A former teacher at a preschool in Taipei has been indicted by the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for allegedly sexually abusing children in his care, according to information posted on the office’s official Web site.
The teacher, identified as Chen Yi-han (陳羿翰), was initially suspended after a report in mid-August from Ping-an Village Preschool, which is operated by the Ministry of National Defense (MND), according to a news release from the Taipei City Department of Education on Friday.
He was later dismissed from his post and fined NT$600,000 after being found to have mistreated young children in his care, the city department said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Chen was also permanently banned from working in any preschool in Taiwan, it added.
Chen is in custody and undergoing a judicial investigation, the department said.
The caregiver was indicted on Nov. 2 on suspicion of sexual molestation, Taipei City Councilor Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) said.
The department’s investigation found that two other teachers at the school, Chen Kai-ting (陳塏婷) and Liang Wei-chin (梁瑋芹), also “mistreated” young children, without elaborating, the department said.
They were each fined NT$400,000, dismissed for four years and required to complete 12 hours of childcare guidance and discipline training, it said.
The department also fined the preschool director NT$60,000, imposed NT$150,000 in fines on those who failed to report the behavior and suspended the school from enrolling new students starting on Friday last week, it added.
Hsu, a member of the Democratic Progressive Party, criticized the city government for its slow response to the case, which she said involved 25 children at two preschools, four of whom were reportedly subjected to indecent assault.
While an investigation on Aug. 19 revealed Chen Yi-han’s suspected improper actions, the Department of Education only suspended him on Aug. 20, without immediately terminating his employment, she said.
Chen Kai-ting and Liang were not suspended until Sept. 3, with their dismissals finalized only after the fines were imposed on Nov. 21, she said.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) on Saturday urged the MND to terminate its contract with the Deh Yu College of Nursing and Health, which had been commissioned to operate Ping-an Village Preschool, within one month.
The MND responded later the same day by pledging to terminate the contract and re-tender the bid.
The city’s education department acted swiftly by suspending Chen as soon as the report was received in August and imposed the maximum penalties after confirming the wrongdoing, Chiang said.
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