A one-year-old boy in Taiwan has died from abuse after living with a pair of nanny sisters for three months, according to Taiwan media reports.

In September last year, the Liu sisters took the toddler Kaikai under their care, as assigned by non-governmental organisation Taiwan Child Welfare League Foundation (TCWLF).

Kaikai had been sent to the organisation by his grandmother after his mother was jailed and his father disappeared.

Instead of caring for him, however, the sisters, who are in their 50s, allegedly fed him burnt food, beat him and tied him up at night when he slept.

When Kaikai was eventually sent to the hospital due to breathing difficulties on Dec 24, 2023, he died.

Although the nannies reportedly claimed he had choked on milk, the doctors suspected something more sinister because of the injuries they found on the boy.

Kaikai's skull was sunken in, his hips and legs had broken bones, and he had no fingernails and only eight teeth.

Soon after, an investigation was launched and the police detained the sisters.

Further probes revealed that Kaikai was also reportedly fed burnt food scraps from a paper cup and he had to eat in the bathroom.

If he failed to finish his food or disobeyed any order, he would allegedly be beaten or made to stand still. If he moved while standing, he would be beaten.

When he slept, the sisters allegedly tied his body to prevent him from moving.

Kaikai was also reportedly treated like a plaything. The elder Liu purportedly tried to fold him in half — tying his feet to his head, stuffing him inside a bucket, and taking and sending pictures of this to her sister.

According to Taiwan media publication Tai Sounds, the elder Liu told the police that she abused Kaikai because she found him an eyesore and didn't enjoy taking care of him.

Unlike the other children in her care, Kaikai did not have parents who would "flatter" her.

"If it wasn't for [the money], I wouldn't want to take care of him at all," she reportedly said.

Social workers visited but didn't suspect anything 

The investigation also revealed that there were multiple instances when the abuse could have been uncovered.

Social workers started visiting Kaikai from early September in 2023 and would share photos of him with his grandmother.

Another visit took place in late September and all had seemed normal.

In October, however, the photo that the social worker sent to Kaikai's grandmother showed that the boy had a big bruise on his forehead, which the Lius claimed he got when he was running around in the park.

The following month, a social worker found that Kaikai had teeth missing. The sisters said that was caused by the boy, who was supposedly distressed by the new environment, grinding his teeth too much.

TCWLF also conducted multiple visits in the three months. There was supposed to be a surprise check, but it was postponed because the nannies claimed that family members had just visited.

Nanny duo blacklisted, social worker training enhanced

The Lius are currently in custody. TCWLF extended their apologies to the boy's family in a Facebook post on March 11.

CEO Bai Li-fang said it was the second time they've worked with the sisters, which was why the social workers were inclined to believe them.

The foundation has since blacklisted the duo and improved social worker training, the South China Morning Post reported on Tuesday (March 26). 

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khooyihang@asiaone.com

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