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
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