A childcare center in Hsinchu County is under investigation after an 18-month-old girl in their care drowned in an outdoor pond on Wednesday last week.
The Hsinchu County Government has barred the center from enrolling more children and is to issue a fine of up to NT$600,000, pending the results of an investigation.
The Hsinchu County Fire Department said it received a report at 11am on Wednesday last week that a child had drowned and remained unconscious and unbreathing after suffering cardiac arrest at a childcare center in the north of the county.
Photo courtesy of a member of the public via CNA
The girl was sent to a hospital for treatment and her breathing and heart rate returned in the ambulance, but she was later pronounced dead by the hospital’s emergency room, the department’s statement said.
The Hsinchu County Government in a news release said that it immediately dispatched personnel to the hospital to accompany the girl’s parents and to the childcare center to obtain CCTV footage and question witnesses and staff.
The investigation found that the girl had gone to explore the 20cm-deep outdoor ecological pond when she accidentally fell in.
The caregiver on duty did not discover the incident in time, and only when another caregiver noticed the girl missing did they find her in the pond, the county government said.
The Hsinchu District Prosecutors’ Office said it has preliminarily ruled out foul play and the incident has been classified as an accidental death.
The local government said it has already instructed the center to hold a meeting with parents and guardians to explain the incident, while it works with the Hsinchu County Infant Care Association to assess the availability of nearby centers to help parents who wish to transfer their children to an alternative facility.
The Student Counseling Center has also been assigned to conduct group counseling and provide assistance at the facility, it said.
The local government said that it had assembled a task force to investigate any potential negligence or mismanagement in accordance with the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法) and other childcare service regulations.
If it is found that a staff member contravened the law, a fine would be issued between NT$60,000 and NT$600,000, and the person’s name would be publicized, it said.
If the childcare center is found to have violated the law, it would also face a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$600,000, it added.
The center would be required to make corrections within a set deadline and failure to comply could result in repeated fines, the center’s name being publicized and suspension of operations for between one month and one year, it said.
The local government said it has also issued an order for all infant care centers within its jurisdiction to conduct a thorough review of safety measures and strengthen child safety protection measures.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
INDUSTRY: Beijing’s latest export measures go beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related tech, an academic said Taiwanese industries could face significant disruption from China’s newly tightened export controls on rare earth elements, as much of Taiwan’s supply indirectly depends on Chinese materials processed in Japan, a local expert said yesterday. Kristy Hsu (徐遵慈), director of the Taiwan ASEAN Studies Center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, said that China’s latest export measures go far beyond targeting the US and would likely affect any country that uses Chinese rare earths or related technologies. With Japan and Southeast Asian countries among those expected to be hit, Taiwan could feel the impact through its reliance on Japanese-made semi-finished products and
RSS