Control Yuan: Kaohsiung City Government Negligent in Visit Assessment for Boy Abused to Death by Mother, Rectification Issued
Taiwan's Control Yuan pointed out negligence by the Kaohsiung City Government in its visit assessments regarding the 1-year-old boy abused to death by his mother, issuing a rectification. It urged the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Police Agency to strengthen inter-system collaboration.
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- 📰 Published: May 4, 2026 at 15:33
- 🔍 Collected: May 4, 2026 at 16:01 (28 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 4, 2026 at 16:14 (13 min after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Kao Hua-chien, Taipei, 4th) The Control Yuan today announced that in the case of a 1-year-old boy in Kaohsiung who was abused to death by his mother in 2024, the Kaohsiung City Government failed to thoroughly and completely assess the birth mother's risk of abuse, and when facing the mother's continuous avoidance of home visits, it did not actively seek police assistance in accordance with the law. All these were deemed derelictions of duty, leading to the rectification of the Kaohsiung City Government. The Control Yuan also requested the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Police Agency to strengthen cross-system collaboration.
Control Yuan member Yeh Ta-hua pointed out in a press release that the boy's family received vulnerable family services from the Kaohsiung City Government starting August 2023 due to economic hardship and childcare issues. However, the birth mother already had suspected abuse records in 2022 and went missing without completing parenting education. Subsequently, the boy was allegedly abused twice by his birth mother in 2023 and 2024 and was reported as a child protection case. The Kaohsiung City Government's Domestic Violence Prevention Center entrusted the first visit to the Zuoying Social Welfare Center, without further seeking professional medical evaluation of the boy's injuries.
Yeh Ta-hua said that for the second report, there was a long delay before the boy was actually visited, missing the opportunity to assess his actual injuries. Furthermore, the mother's past abuse records were not thoroughly assessed in the risk assessment form, leading to a low-risk evaluation. As a result, even though the boy was repeatedly reported, no case was opened.
In addition, Yeh Ta-hua pointed out that during the service period, the birth mother once proposed placing the boy, but the Kaohsiung City Government failed to thoroughly collect complete information about the boy's family. This led the decision-making meeting to overlook high-risk factors such as the birth mother's past abuse, and it was decided not to place the child. Consequently, until the boy was abused to death, he only received supportive services for vulnerable families from the social welfare center, without intervention from child protection resources.
Yeh Ta-hua explained that the Child and Youth Welfare Act clearly stipulates that if social workers encounter difficulties in visiting children, they may seek assistance from police agencies. In this case, after visiting the boy in June 2024, the Kaohsiung City Government was strongly refused service by the birth mother. However, the Kaohsiung City Government did not seek police assistance or actively handle the situation in accordance with the Child and Youth Welfare Act, failing to visit the boy to confirm his care status.
Yeh Ta-hua noted that in recent years, cases of vulnerable families seeking police assistance for missing persons have increased annually, exceeding child protection cases in 2025. This indicates that situations of missing children, lost contact, and difficult visits in vulnerable family services are no less serious than in child protection cases. The Ministry of Health and Welfare should continue to strengthen collaboration with the National Police Agency for difficult visit cases, acting as strong support for frontline social workers to ensure the protection of children's right to life.
Yeh Ta-hua stated that medical institutions are important systems for discovering child abuse and assisting in identifying children's injuries. The Ministry of Health and Welfare promoted the dedicated pediatrician system for young children in 2020 and included social welfare cases like vulnerable families as designated recipients in 2024. However, in this case, the boy was referred twice to a dedicated pediatrician but could not be successfully enrolled due to the birth mother's low willingness and medical seeking habits. Besides promoting the dedicated pediatrician system for families with low willingness and high risk, the Ministry of Health and Welfare should also study how to closely cooperate with existing medical service systems at all levels and social welfare to strengthen early identification and timely intervention. (Edited by Lin Hsing-meng)1150504
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(Central News Agency reporter Kao Hua-chien, Taipei, 4th) The Control Yuan today announced that in the case of a 1-year-old boy in Kaohsiung who was abused to death by his mother in 2024, the Kaohsiung City Government failed to thoroughly and completely assess the birth mother's risk of abuse, and when facing the mother's continuous avoidance of home visits, it did not actively seek police assistance in accordance with the law. All these were deemed derelictions of duty, leading to the rectification of the Kaohsiung City Government. The Control Yuan also requested the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the National Police Agency to strengthen cross-system collaboration.
Control Yuan member Yeh Ta-hua pointed out in a press release that the boy's family received vulnerable family services from the Kaohsiung City Government starting August 2023 due to economic hardship and childcare issues. However, the birth mother already had suspected abuse records in 2022 and went missing without completing parenting education. Subsequently, the boy was allegedly abused twice by his birth mother in 2023 and 2024 and was reported as a child protection case. The Kaohsiung City Government's Domestic Violence Prevention Center entrusted the first visit to the Zuoying Social Welfare Center, without further seeking professional medical evaluation of the boy's injuries.
Yeh Ta-hua said that for the second report, there was a long delay before the boy was actually visited, missing the opportunity to assess his actual injuries. Furthermore, the mother's past abuse records were not thoroughly assessed in the risk assessment form, leading to a low-risk evaluation. As a result, even though the boy was repeatedly reported, no case was opened.
In addition, Yeh Ta-hua pointed out that during the service period, the birth mother once proposed placing the boy, but the Kaohsiung City Government failed to thoroughly collect complete information about the boy's family. This led the decision-making meeting to overlook high-risk factors such as the birth mother's past abuse, and it was decided not to place the child. Consequently, until the boy was abused to death, he only received supportive services for vulnerable families from the social welfare center, without intervention from child protection resources.
Yeh Ta-hua explained that the Child and Youth Welfare Act clearly stipulates that if social workers encounter difficulties in visiting children, they may seek assistance from police agencies. In this case, after visiting the boy in June 2024, the Kaohsiung City Government was strongly refused service by the birth mother. However, the Kaohsiung City Government did not seek police assistance or actively handle the situation in accordance with the Child and Youth Welfare Act, failing to visit the boy to confirm his care status.
Yeh Ta-hua noted that in recent years, cases of vulnerable families seeking police assistance for missing persons have increased annually, exceeding child protection cases in 2025. This indicates that situations of missing children, lost contact, and difficult visits in vulnerable family services are no less serious than in child protection cases. The Ministry of Health and Welfare should continue to strengthen collaboration with the National Police Agency for difficult visit cases, acting as strong support for frontline social workers to ensure the protection of children's right to life.
Yeh Ta-hua stated that medical institutions are important systems for discovering child abuse and assisting in identifying children's injuries. The Ministry of Health and Welfare promoted the dedicated pediatrician system for young children in 2020 and included social welfare cases like vulnerable families as designated recipients in 2024. However, in this case, the boy was referred twice to a dedicated pediatrician but could not be successfully enrolled due to the birth mother's low willingness and medical seeking habits. Besides promoting the dedicated pediatrician system for families with low willingness and high risk, the Ministry of Health and Welfare should also study how to closely cooperate with existing medical service systems at all levels and social welfare to strengthen early identification and timely intervention. (Edited by Lin Hsing-meng)1150504
Stand with facts. Your sponsorship is the power to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-Hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and utilized without authorization.