Social Worker in Kai Kai Case Sentenced to 2 Years; Entertainer Yu Fang: Any Sentence is Too Light

(Central News Agency reporter Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei, 16th) In the fatal abuse case of the toddler "Kai Kai," the Taipei District Court today sentenced Chen Shang-chieh, a female social worker from the Child Welfare League, to 2 years in prison for negligent homicide. Outside the court, "Kai Kai Warriors" protested the light sentence. Entertainer Yu Fang, who was present to show concern, stated, "No matter how many years she is sentenced to, for us, it is a light sentence."

In the case where the 1-year-and-10-month-old boy "Kai Kai" was abused to death, the Taiwan High Court sentenced nanny sister Liu Tsai-hsuan to life imprisonment and Liu Jo-lin to 18 years in prison on January 27 this year. The Taipei District Prosecutors Office found that after visiting the boy three times, Child Welfare League social worker Chen Shang-chieh clearly knew of abnormalities but failed to accurately write the visitation records. In August 2024, Chen was indicted on charges of negligent homicide and using falsified business documents.

The Taipei District Court spent a year and a half trying the case, and today sentenced Chen Shang-chieh to 2 years in prison for negligent homicide. She was found not guilty of the document forgery charge. The ruling pointed out that as the key figure most capable of piecing together the truth of the abuse and providing rescue, Chen's passive inaction caused Kai Kai, who was completely unable to seek help, to lose his life.

After the verdict was announced, dozens of people, including child protection groups and "Kai Kai Warriors," gathered outside the court, pulling banners to protest the Child Welfare League's evasion of responsibility and demanding severe judicial punishment. Unhappy with the verdict, they chanted, "Unacceptable! Judicial injustice! Shielding accomplices!"

Entertainer Yu Fang, who visited the scene again today, said in an interview that this verdict is truly "a big whale eating the small shrimp of society" because of the "Kai Kai case." She said, "The public has already developed trauma syndrome, and today's verdict deepens our depression. No matter how many years she is sentenced to, for us, it is a light sentence."

A "Kai Kai Warrior" said in an interview that hearing this verdict was truly unacceptable and too outrageous. She wanted to ask: "May I ask the judge, may I ask the collegiate bench, are you under a lot of pressure? We really cannot accept this. No matter what, we will continue to persevere. Through the second and third trials, until the final verdict is reached, we will always be here."