Parents of children who were allegedly given sedatives by preschool staff in Taiwan have been protesting the government’s tardy response to the incident.
Hundreds of people gathered in New Taipei City on Sunday to protest the length of time it took for medical tests to be performed on the children after suspicions were raised in mid-May.
Three parents reported their children’s irritability and self-harming tendencies to the police on May 14, saying that between February and April of this year, the children displayed these traits.
According to Taiwan’s official Central News Agency (CNA), the parents said the children told them their teachers had given them drugs.
Some of the children tested positive for barbiturates and benzodiazepines, two types of drugs that depress the central nervous system.
On May 15, the District Prosecutors Office in New Taipei City was first made aware of a case involving possible drugging of children.
It instructed the police to search the kindergarten three days later and found CCTV footage and other evidence, according to a statement.
According to a report from CNA, more than a dozen parents had already reported the incident to the police. On June 5, the city offered drug tests to all children attending the preschool.
The New Taipei City Government reported that, eight of the 28 students from the school, which has 67 students, who underwent tests on June 8, had traces of barbiturates in their systems.
According to CNA, parents had also taken their children to nearby hospitals for testing beforehand.
On June 5, 16 of those students were subjected to drug tests arranged by the city’s Education Bureau.
As of June 15, 29 children had been admitted to the hospital for scheduled tests; 28 of them had tested negative for the drugs, according to Lin Ching-feng, director of the government-affiliated medical management association. At that time, confirmation of the lone case was still pending.
The tests were carried out several weeks after the alleged drugging.
The kindergarten has been fined 150,000 New Taiwan dollars, (about $4,850), by the local education department, which also ordered its closure.
Seven teachers, including the principal, were questioned by authorities earlier this month and later released on bail, according to CNA. It’s unclear if they were charged for any particular crimes.
The alleged incident has caused a stir in Taiwan, and the fallout may have an impact on the January 2024 election for the presidency of Taiwan, in which Hou Yu-ih, the current mayor of New Taipei City, is a candidate for the opposition Kuomintang party.
In response to the incident earlier this month, Hou issued an apology.
Source-CNN
