The Hsinchu County Government said it has carried out an investigation into a private daycare center accused of tying a child to a chair for long periods.
The daycare center has voluntarily stopped accepting new children, and its managers are to undergo three months of training, the Hsinchu County Department of Social Affairs said.
The department said it had received a report on July 15 from a father who believed that his son was being tied up, after which it sent personnel to conduct a surprise inspection, including reviewing footage from cameras.
Photo courtesy of the Taoyuan City Government
Two staff involved in the incident were immediately fired and their licenses suspended, it said.
The department has made regular inspections since the report, it said, adding that it would convene a meeting with childcare experts to discuss its findings and decide on follow-up action.
Speaking with reporters, the father said his son often had bruises on his body after coming home from the center.
On July 12, he noticed marks on his son that seemed to have been left by restraints, after which he reported the marks to the Hsinchu County Government and the police.
During an inspection, footage showed that his son had been tied to a bamboo chair for eight of the 16 days he was placed in care for at least two hours a day, and for five hours on one day.
The father claimed that the two staff involved would also “humiliate” his son.
Other parents also complained that when they visited the center, they often heard children crying and expressed concerns that staff were ignoring the children.
In the footage it reviewed, the department said staff were seen using their smartphones rather than tending to the children.
However, the footage did not show evidence of actions by staff that would have caused the bruising that the father had expressed concerns about, it said.
Commenting on the restraint of the boy for several hours, the department said that regulations stipulate that children can only be restrained in chairs for up to a maximum of eight minutes at a time.
Staff at the center have all received professional training and hold certificates, but they have not followed their training in their attitude toward educational care, including their use of language in exercising discipline, demonstrating a need for improvement, the department said.
The department said it would assist parents in referring children to other childcare centers, which they could attend starting next month.
The center involved is to be closed from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31 to undergo improvements, it said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday said that the incident did not meet the definition of “serious child abuse,” but that it did represent improper treatment of children and restriction of freedom.
The ministry said that if an investigation confirms any serious contravention of the Protection of Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法), the name of the center and the person in charge would be made public, and a fine of up to NT$600,000 would be imposed.
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