TAIPEI, Taiwan — Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Lin Chun-hsien said on Tuesday that he holds “solid evidence” to “destroy the reputation” of a teacher who he claims raped a young writer several years ago.
Lin accused a cram school teacher on Tuesday of raping the late Lin Yi-han, a talented writer and daughter of eminent doctor Lin Ping-huang. She died in an apparent suicide last week at 26 years old.
Her parents issued a statement the day after the suicide, claiming that their daughter died not just because of the major depressive order she had struggled with since she was 16 years old, but also because she never recovered from the grooming and rape eight to nine years ago.
The statement pointed to one of the cram school teachers who taught her before she took the high school entrance exam.
Users of social media went wild seeking out the teacher. Authorities meanwhile promised to “get to the bottom” of the situation, warning netizens that accusing any individual of rape and sharing, posting or reposting unconfirmed accusations could get them into legal trouble.
Despite this, DPP Legislator Lin revealed the name of a cram school teacher he accused of having committed the rape.
The teacher founded a company – unrelated to teaching – in 2004, with NT$5 million (S$232,000) capital and 10 staff, Lin said, but has been contracted by the government 273 times, earning NT$310 million in the past decade.
“It’s incredible how a small company like this can beat large corporations to secure government contracts,” Lin said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, the National Taxation Bureau of Taipei, and the Agency Against Corruption have all been invited to a press conference today, where Lin vows to destroy the teacher’s reputation once and for all.
Problematic teachers found at cram schools
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung City Councilor Hsiao Yung-ta of the DPP also revealed the name of the teacher, stating that if he is proven wrong, he will “quit politics forever.”
In a message to the teacher, Hsiao said that he may never face charges for the incident, but he should at least fulfil his social responsibilities and quit the education industry.
The Kaoshiung social bureau, said that Hsiao’s comments were legal, as, according to the Sexual Assault Prevention Act, it is only illegal to reveal the names of crime victims.
The current Criminal Code sets the age of consent at 16 years old. Law enforcement likely have no grounds to prosecute cases where the victim is unable to present evidence of being forced upon.
The local education bureau have promised to investigate the teacher.
Southern office director of the Humanistic Education Foundation Chang Ping said that there are 40 to 50 teachers involved in inappropriate sexual relationships with students that are subsequently fired from mainstream educational institutions every year. They are then likely to join the cram school industry.
Chang urged frequent and thorough inspections on the background checks currently in place for cram school teachers.
