The New Taipei City Government yesterday said it would provide administrative and legal assistance to a Banciao District (板橋) preschool for losses associated with an alleged drugging scandal after prosecutors on Wednesday closed a probe into the school, citing a lack of evidence.
The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday said that with hair follicle tests of 36 children finding no traces of sedatives, there were insufficient grounds to pursue criminal charges against nine of the preschool’s staff members for allegedly drugging students.
There were also inconsistencies in the children’s testimonies before and after questioning, they said.
Photo: Huang Tsu-yang, Taipei Times
After cross-referencing surveillance footage from March 1 to April 15 with written consent forms and medical records, it was found that school staff had not improperly administered medication to students, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said that they would also not be pursuing charges over allegations that the school had used corporal punishment on 13 children after interviews and surveillance footage provided insufficient evidence of such activity.
The New Taipei City Government yesterday said that it would revoke the administrative sanctions it imposed on the preschool and contact its principal to provide legal assistance if it wishes to seek redress.
The city government had revoked the preschool’s license on June 12 and fined it NT$150,000 on the basis of complaints from parents that their children had been given sedatives.
The city government could have been better in sharing information with the parents of the children and in an attempt at improvement, it is reviewing its measures, New Taipei City Education Department Commissioner Chang Ming-wen (張明文) told a news conference.
It had also underestimated the impact of the issue’s politicization and how information was being handled, causing distrust between the public and school staff, New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Liu Ho-jan (劉和然) said, adding that the city is looking at how it could have handled the issue better, and working to mend trust between parents and the school.
At a separate news conference, a teacher at the Banciao school surnamed Ho (何) said that while justice would clear their names, no one has given them justice.
New Power Party Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭) and Taiwan Children’s Rights Association director-general Wang Wei-chun (王薇君) rendered judgement before there was a trial, Ho said, adding that both should issue a public apology or she would take them to court.
Claire Wang said that she had never openly accused or implicated anyone, adding that she respected the results of the judicial investigation.
Claire Wang said she wanted to help parents find the truth and protect them from further harm, adding that she would shoulder all responsibility if her acts have caused distress for others.
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