TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Control Yuan censured Taipei City Government on Wednesday for failing to respond properly to abuse reports from a preschool where hundreds of sexual assaults occurred between 2022 and 2023.
The government auditor said in a press release on Wednesday their investigation found the Taipei government’s oversights allowed private kindergarten teacher Mao Chun-shen (毛畯珅) to continue sexually assaulting children. Mao was convicted last year of sexually assaulting six children at a kindergarten owned by his mother and sentenced to 28 years in prison.
Since Mao was sentenced, 39 other children have accused him of sexual assault. The case is being tried in the Taipei District Court.
The Control Yuan investigation found the Taipei government failed to properly investigate reports of sexual abuse at the preschool after they were first made in 2022. It said authorities did not immediately close the school, suspend Mao, or adequately investigate.
The investigation also determined Taipei government did not coordinate effectively with education and social welfare agencies. It said this oversight also led to further cases of sexual abuse being missed.
The Control Yuan called for the heads of the Taipei education and social welfare departments to be disciplined for their failings. The education department said it had reviewed its response to the case and penalized responsible staff members, per CNA.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) did not respond to the findings when questioned by reporters at the Taipei International Book Fair. A deputy spokesperson for the city said punishments were handed down and improvement plans were implemented last year.
The Taipei government last year gave a disciplinary warning to the deputy director of the education bureau’s business department director, and lower-ranking staff in the same department received censure or were given warnings. The city’s then Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention Center director was given a warning for supervisory negligence at the same time.
