The High Court today rejected the appeal of two sisters who were found guilty of torturing a one-year-old boy to death, upholding a life sentence for the older sister and an 18-year sentence for the younger sister.
The ruling can be appealed.
From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23, 2023, the two licensed at-home caregivers allegedly abused the boy nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was rushed to hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not survive.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
The first trial was held at the Taipei District Court. A panel of professional and citizen judges in May last year sentenced the two on charges including child abuse resulting in death and unlawful restraint.
The older sister, Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱), “derived pleasure from abuse,” while the younger sister, Liu Juo-lin (劉若琳), was deemed a coperpetrator, the court said.
No faults were found in the initial ruling, so the appeal was rejected, while the two sisters’ detention was extended a further two months, until April 1, High Court spokesman Wang Ping-hsia (王屏夏) said.
The High Court found that the initial trial involved no bias, prejudgment or unfair treatment, he added.
In August 2023, the Child Welfare League Foundation placed Kai Kai in the full-time foster care of Liu Tsai-hsuan, who was often assisted by her younger sister, Liu Juo-lin, the initial ruling said.
Kai Kai’s mother had gone missing in February 2022 and his father’s whereabouts were unknown, with custody transferred to his grandmother, who placed him up for adoption in June 2023.
The Liu sisters tortured him, inflicting physical abuse, restraining him and injuring him so severely that he sustained at least 42 abuse-related injuries and psychological trauma, the ruling found.
The sisters not only beat and starved Kai Kai, but also tied him up with ropes and cloth, forcefully bent his body and covered his eyes with a mask, the ruling said.
The younger sister scratched Kai Kai’s neck with an unknown object, while the older sister beat him with her hands or using objects, pulled and twisted his ears and pushed him to the ground, it said.
She ordered him to stand naked wearing only a diaper as punishment, take cold showers and eat leftovers in the bathroom, it said.
The older sister also took photos of the abuse and sent them to her sister, the ruling said.
Although Kai Kai was clearly malnourished and injured, the sisters did not seek medical treatment until he collapsed from hypovolemic shock on Dec. 24, 2023, it said, adding that he died from his injuries after the sisters took him to a local hospital.
Child Protection Action Group convener Wallis Chang (張瓦力) today cried as he spoke to reporters, thanking the court and the judges for not reducing the sisters’ sentences.
Kai Kai’s grandmother spoke through her lawyers, thanking the court and the public for their support.
She said she hopes that this painful lesson would bring more social awareness to child protection and prompt institutional reforms.
The sisters were also indicted in January last year for allegedly abusing two other children, a newborn baby and a six-month-old infant, who were in their care in 2023.
The older sister only admitted to unlawful detention of one child and denied the other charges, while the younger sister denied all wrongdoing.
The trial in that case remains ongoing.
Additional reporting by Yang Hsin-hui
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS