The Banciao preschool that was falsely accused of giving children sedatives is seeking state compensation for the losses it accumulated during the investigation, the New Taipei City Education Bureau said on Friday.
The school’s finances and reputation were damaged after it had to temporarily cease operations when the New Taipei City Government revoked its license on June 12 based on complaints from parents that their children had been given sedatives.
The city’s education bureau fined the preschool NT$150,000 which it said on Friday was issued in line with the Early Childhood Education and Care Act (幼兒教育及照顧法) and other related regulations.
It said that the preschool was fined for failing to report to the bureau that it had received complaints of inappropriate treatment of its students and it was planning to shut down operations by the end of this month.
The move for compensation came after the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office said on Wednesday that there were insufficient grounds to pursue criminal charges against nine of the preschool’s staff members.
The office originally questioned the teachers about the allegations early last month and let them go on NT$20,000 to NT$50,000 bail, but that sparked recriminations against the teachers at the school and the New Taipei Government.
However, tests done with more precise instruments indicated that the students did not have any traces of barbiturates in their systems, and no evidence of wrongdoing was ever presented.
The city government on Thursday went on to revoke the administrative sanctions it had imposed on the preschool, and said it would contact the school’s principal to explain its decision and offer legal assistance if the preschool wished to seek redress.
In a statement it made through the education bureau on Friday, the school said it understood why it was given the NT$150,000 fine.
As for the losses it sustained, the school would be seeking legal counsel on petitioning the government for national compensation for the time it had to stop operations and cooperate with investigations, the bureau said.
The bureau said that once it receives the state compensation application from the preschool, it would do all it could to help the school with its claim.
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