Teachers in Taiwan accused of ‘drugging’ kindergarten children, parents alarmed

Preschools in Taiwan’s New Taipei City find themselves embroiled in a “drugging” scandal where teachers have been accused of sedating children with cough syrups which, as per BBC, contain drugs like phenobarbital and benzodiazepines. This comes after parents complained about what they described as withdrawal symptoms over the holidays which has since sparked concerns and protests.

The parents in Taiwan filed complaints against a private preschool named New Taipei Kid Castle in May after accusing the staff of feeding their children “unknown drugs”. It was later found that the children had been given medicines containing drugs which are said to be highly addictive sedatives, some of which have been phased out of certain countries.

Parents’ accusations against teachers

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Earlier this year, parents said they noticed what appeared to be withdrawal symptoms in their children over the long Lunar New Year holiday back in February, Mike, thefather of a five-year-old child, told BBC Chinese.

“Some parents found their children, over the vacation, had become irritable, restless and screamed when sleeping, and even cried out with leg cramps,” said Mike, adding that after speaking to their children they found that the staff had been giving them an “unknown potion”.

A similar case emerged across the island in the city of Kaohsiung, reported BBC, where the local health department found four doctors guilty of improper use of one of the drugs, phenobarbital, on about 20 children.

The doctors’ practices have since been suspended and were also fined 1.4 million Taiwanese dollars ($ 46,121). As per local media reports, the cough medicines in question were barbiturates which is a class of drugs which includes phenobarbital and have been phased out in most countries.

Additionally, drugs containing phenobarbital are used during treatment for epilepsy and or used as surgical anaesthesia. Meanwhile, benzodiazepines commonly known as “benzos”, are a class of depressant drugs most commonly used to treat severe anxiety and insomnia.

The ongoing investigation

Based on the complaints filed by parents in April and May, the police launched an investigation. However, officials said it is not clear why the children were given these addictive syrups.

Meanwhile, hundreds of parents also took to the streets on Sunday in New Taipei City and demanded greater transparency from the ongoing police investigation of the case. So far, the principal of the school and five teachers have been arrested and questioned by the police amid the ongoing criminal investigation.

The kindergarten at the centre of this scandal has since been closed. The Kid Castle Educational Institute was ordered to shut down last week and its directors have been fined 150,000 Taiwanese dollars ($$4,872).

New Taipei City government under fire

The New Taipei City’s government came under fire last week after the parents accused the teachers of shifting the blame after one of them confessed and said that the students were given cough medicine, as per local media reports.

However, the teacher said it was with the parents’ consent which has since sparked an uproar. Parents told the local media that while they did receive a list of medication, they never thought it contained barbiturates.

“When kids catch colds, the cough medicine prescribed by the doctor will not contain barbiturates. It is completely different from cough medicine,” said one parent, as quoted by the Taiwan News.

This has since prompted New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih to issue an apology for his handling of the case and spoke about how teachers with ulterior motives had done “heartbreaking things” to the children, as per local media reports.

Amid public criticism, two major preschool unions in the city have urged their members to stop administering medicines to students and asked parents to keep their children at home if they are ill for recovery.

As per local media reports, preschool staff and teachers have allegedly been bullied across Taiwan since the scandal. Meanwhile, Taipei City Hospital has offered free blood tests for preschool children to check for traces of sedatives.

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