Taiwan rocked by preschool drugging as dozens of children fed sedatives

Teachers at kindergarten centre in Taipei allegedly give children phenobarbital to ‘make them more compliant’

Activists in Taiwan protesting against drugging kindergarten students (TaiwanPlus News/YouTube)

Scores of parents in Taiwan have raised alarm over reports that teachers of a school have been drugging kindergarten students.

Local authorities have launched a criminal investigation into claims that teachers at a kindergarten school in Taipei were giving students cough syrups like phenobarbital and benzodiazepines.

On Sunday, more than 1,000 parents held a protest at the Civic Plaza outside New Taipei City Hall and demanded transparency.

The demonstrating parents said they wanted stricter punishments for child abusers and more comprehensive protection mechanisms at preschools.

Reports said the police have not yet ascertained why children were allegedly fed the sedative and often addictive syrups.

The kindergarten school at the centre of the controversy, affiliated with the Kid Castle Educational Institute, has been asked by authorities to shut shop.

The school’s principal and five teachers were arrested and questioned by police, but have since been released on bail, reports said. The directors of the institute have been fined $4,872.

Local reports said parents have been protesting outside government buildings demanding transparency into the kindergarten drugs probe.

The case first came to light in April and May, when some parents became suspicious that teachers were administering drugs to their children.

Parents have since taken their children to hospitals for check-ups and reports said dozens of students tested positive for the drugs. Officials have not revealed the exact number of cases, with some reports saying eight pupils were allegedly drugged, while others said they numbered as many as 20.

Taipei Times reported that teachers at the kindergarten centre in New Taipei City’s Banciao district allegedly gave children phenobarbital to “make them more compliant”.

Taipei General Hospital last week said it was adding inspections for phenobarbital and benzodiazepine to standard checks for preschool children.

The government has been accused of delaying the investigation into the matter and of having taken more than three weeks after it first received reports of the sedated children.

Taiwan Children’s Rights Association director-general Wang Wei-chun organised a “Do not drug and harm our children” rally over the weekend and demanded transparency from the government.

Claire Wang, a local politician from the New Power Party, demanded the city government provide on-campus drug testing and hold consultations with parents.

Drugs containing phenobarbital are used to control seizures. Phenobarbital is used to relieve anxiety and works by slowing activity in the brain.

According to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drugs Addiction, benzodiazepines are widely used in medicine to treat anxiety and insomnia. They act as depressants of the central nervous system.

In a separate case on Monday, four doctors in Taiwan were fined for improperly prescribing a barbiturate drug to treat ailments like the common cold, including in infants.