The parents of three elementary-school students must pay NT$61,800 (US$2,024.90) in compensation to a classmate, whose water bottle they dosed with devil’s ivy (Epipremnum aureum) while they were in the fifth grade in 2023, the Taichung District Court said in a ruling.
The ruling can be appealed.
Four girls in the same class plotted to poison the classmate, citing their dislike of his attitude and comments, the court said.
Photo: Chang Jui-chen, Taipei Times
The four made a list of substances they were considering, including oleander, night-scented lily and devil’s ivy, it said.
On April 27, 2023, the four students made devil’s ivy extract and put it in the victim’s water bottle, it said, adding that after drinking, the boy developed symptoms including nausea, diarrhea and numbness in the mouth.
On May 11, 2023, the boy found a glass bottle containing the extract under the chair of one of the four and school authorities were notified, the ruling said.
One of the four asked for forgiveness from the boy, while the remaining three were represented by their parents in negotiations with the victim’s parents, it said.
The victim’s parents sought NT$1.01 million in compensation, but the ruling, taking into account the financial capabilities of the perpetrators’ families, said that they should pay a combined NT$61,800.
In a separate ruling over another incident involving the same boy, the court last year ordered a male classmate accused of chasing the victim with a box cutter and verbally insulting him to pay compensation of NT$69,380.
The male perpetrator verbally disparaged the victim from January to August of that year, and was seen chasing the victim while shouting: “I’ve had enough of you. I’m going to kill you,” it said.
The parents of the perpetrator in the second case said that their child holds a disability certificate and his actions were in reaction to the victim’s “aggressive behavior,” it said.
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