How Could You? Hall of Shame-Taiwan-1-year-old boy case-Child Death UPDATED

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Taipei, Taiwan, a “29-year-old female social worker, surnamed Chen (陳), was also taken in for questioning on suspicion of forgery and negligence leading to death” of a 1-year-old boy who died after allegedly being abused by his foster caregiver.

“In the case in question, the CWLF arranged last September to have the 1-year-old New Taipei boy placed in the care of a licensed nanny in Taipei after his mother was sent to prison.

The foundation said its social workers conducted monthly check-ins on the boy in September, October and November.

In December, social workers postponed their planned visit after the foster caregiver said another child she was caring for was ill, the foundation noted, adding that it received news of the boy’s death at the end of that month.

The foundation has not said how it learned of the child’s death, but added that upon receiving the news, its employees “immediately rushed to the hospital and notified [the child’s] family.”

The Taipei District Prosecutors Office has said that after learning of the case in January, it summoned the boy’s foster caregiver, surnamed Liu (劉), for questioning, and later received permission to have her detained on suspicion of child abuse leading to death, causing injuries leading to death, and violations of child welfare laws.

As its investigation proceeded, Liu’s younger sister was also summoned for questioning and detained in February, it said.

Both have yet to be charged.

The latest developments in the case come after a friend of the boy’s family said that according to the autopsy conducted on the 1-year-old, he suffered long-term physical abuse in foster care, which could have been prevented if his case worker had done her job properly.

According to the friend, surnamed Lin (林), the CWLF would only correspond with the boy’s paternal grandmother, and many of the photos sent by the social worker did not appear to have been taken during check-ins, raising questions as to whether the case reports they submitted were authentic.

Responding to the allegations at a press conference on Tuesday, CWLF chief executive Pai Li-fang (白麗芳) said she was “confident” none of the foundation’s social workers would falsify any of their work reports.

Pai also claimed that screenshots of the social worker’s correspondence with the boy’s grandmother posted by Lin were only “fragments,” and that the full correspondence, along with other documents relevant to the case, had been turned over to prosecutors.

As the social worker handling the case has already given testimony to prosecutors, “we hope people won’t pin all the responsibility on one person. The CWLF as a whole will bear full responsibility for any future judicial outcome,” she said.”
Social worker questioned over abuse, death of boy in foster care
[Focus Taiwan 3/12/24 by Lin Chang-shun, Wu Hsin-yun and Matthew Mazzetta]

REFORM Puzzle Piece

Update:“During their investigation prosecutors found that the older sister had been caring for a 6-month-old infant surnamed Pan (潘) since April 2023, and the younger sister Liu Juo-lin (劉若琳) had been looking after a newborn sunamed Tsai (蔡) through the CWLF from the same time. The Liu sisters often supported each other or jointly took care of the two children, the prosecutors office said in a statement.

When the younger sister was taking care of Tsai on Sept. 3, 2023, she allegedly did nothing when another child in her care surnamed Lin (林) pressed his feet against Tsai’s head and tightened the lanyard holding the pacifier around the baby’s neck.

She also failed to take action when Lin flicked Tsai’s eyes, nose, face and neck, causing Tsai to burst into tears. Instead of stopping Lin, Liu Juo-lin recorded the scene on video and made fun of the incident, according to the prosecutors office.

In October 2023, when the younger Liu went into hospital for surgery, her older sister Liu Tsai-hsuan took care of Tsai. On Oct. 29, she allegedly tied Tsai’s hands and legs to a chair.

The prosecutors office stated that in September 2023, the Liu sisters made Pan stand with one foot on a chair and the other on the ground, so the 6-month-old could neither get up nor get down, inflicting pain on the infant and making the child cry. When the frightened Pan turned around to reach out for help, the two sisters ignored the young child.

In addition, Pan’s mother told the prosecutors that she found her child’s anus was severely swollen, blistered, and ulcerated after Liu Tsai-hsuan took care of him. The mother repeatedly reminded the older sister that she should change Pan’s diapers more often, but the baby carer failed to do so. Despite a doctor’s warnings and Pan’s mother’s repeated reminders, Liu still did not improve the way she cared for Pan, according to the prosecutors office.

The prosecutors office concluded its investigation on Monday and charged the Liu sisters with obstructing the natural development of young children, coercion and inflicting injury, while seeking heavy sentences in accordance with the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act.”

Nanny sisters indicted for abusing 2 more children
[Focus Taiwan 1/20/25]