The Control Yuan today announced it has reprimanded the Taipei City Government after an investigation found significant failures in the handling of a child sexual assault case from 2022 to 2023.
Private preschool teacher Mao Chun-shen (毛畯珅) was convicted last year on charges of sexually abusing children at the Taipei Piramide School, which was owned by his mother.
The abuse came to light in 2023, leading to the school’s license being revoked and disciplinary action against all staff found responsible.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
Mao was found guilty on 11 counts of sexual assault, 207 counts of indecent assault and six counts of filming obscene images.
He was sentenced to 28 years in prison, extended by a further eight months last month after 39 more victims were identified.
The case remains under trial at the Taipei District Court.
The Control Yuan’s investigation, conducted by members Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華), Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) and Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容), found that since the initial report was received in July 2022, the Taipei City Government, under then-mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲), failed to conduct proper investigations and follow-up.
The investigation found seven major oversights by the city government, including failure to conduct proper on-site investigations, lack of a dedicated response unit and failure to immediately suspend the suspect, allowing him to perpetrate further acts of sexual assault, the members said.
The Control Yuan also found the city government failed to coordinate effectively with education and social welfare agencies, creating gaps that also led to further cases being missed and more incidents.
The Control Yuan called for disciplinary action against the heads of the Taipei Department of Education and Department of Social Welfare.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) declined to comment on the case when speaking to reporters today before attending the Taipei International Book Exhibition.
The city government already did a thorough investigation and took appropriate disciplinary measures last year, Taipei deputy spokesperson Li Cheng-hsuan (李政軒) said.
The city government has also implemented improved countermeasures and would continue to work closely with parents and caregivers to prioritize children’s safety, he added.
The Taipei Department of Education in a news release today said that it had imposed severe punishments on the perpetrator and kindergarten staff, and took disciplinary action against relevant department personnel.
It also created a response team in conjunction with the city’s Department of Social Welfare, Department of Health and Taipei police to ensure nothing has been missed in this case and to prevent similar cases from occurring, it said.
Additional reporting by Fang Wei-li
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