Vigilantes clash with police over suspected child abuse case in Taichung City
Police arrested several people who clashed with police and trespassed on a property in Taichung City last night, after a mob of around 500 people gathered to demand the arrest and detention of a woman suspected to have inflicted severe physical abuse on a child in her care.
Friday morning, June 21, a one-year-old girl was sent to hospital suffering intracranial hemorrhage, a fractured arm, and severe bruising on her head, chest, and back. The babysitter, Ms Guo, who had been caring for the child, claimed that she had been helping the girl take a bath, found her unconscious, and didn’t know how the injury had happened.
The nature of the injuries, and Guo’s evasive answers led medical personnel to report the case to the Social Affairs Bureau, and police.
After undergoing an operation to remove a blood clot in her brain, the toddler lay in a level three coma in the intensive care unit, with a pessimistic prognosis from doctors, who gave the girl little chance of survival, and a high likelihood of permanent brain damage if she does survive.
According to reports, 25-year-old Ms Guo had received her childcare license in March this year, and had been caring for the baby girl since May. Because, the infant’s mother is a single mother working full-time, the childcare arrangement involved 24-hour care during the working week.
On Sunday, as the mother of the girl raised the possibility of her daughter being removed from life-support, and her organs donated, angry readers turned to social media and called for people to surround Ms Guo’s residence.
At around 9:00pm, an angry mob began to gather, and were met by a contingent of police who guarded the entrance of the building to prevent the protesters getting in. As the instigator of the gathering broadcast live to Facebook, the crowd continued to grow to an estimated 500 people.
The mob howled for justice, demanding that Guo be arrested and detained. Some protesters hurled eggs, set off firecrackers, and some bricks and bottles were tossed, according to Apple Daily.
Police at the scene called for back-up, and by midnight, the police contingent numbered 200 officers.
The crowd made several pushes against the police and several protesters managed to enter the building, and were pepper-sprayed, and arrested. More than a dozen people were taken away by police, as a police captain urged the crowd to disperse.
As riot police showed up, the crowd finally dispersed at around 1:20am.
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Sources: United Daily News, United Daily News, Apple Daily.
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