TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Teachers at a private preschool in New Taipei City's Banqiao District have been accused by parents of giving sleeping pills to its students.

Thus far, 17 parents have filed police reports for the case. The New Taipei City District Prosecutor's Office conducted a second wave of searches of the school and brought in the principal and seven teachers for questioning, reported CNA.

On May 14, three parents went to the Haishan Precinct of the New Taipei City Police Department alleging that their children who attended the preschool in Banqiao District were emotionally irritable and began displaying self-harm behavior from February to April this year. The parents also claimed that their children had been given unknown drugs by their teachers and received improper corporal punishments.

After conducting a search on May 18, prosecutors brought in a teacher surnamed Chao (趙) for questioning. Chao was arrested, questioned further, and then released after posting NT$20,000 bail.

The New Taipei City District Prosector's Office then ordered the Haishan Precinct to launch a second wave of searches at 6 a.m. on Thursday morning (June 8). Officers and prosecutors conducted searches in the residences of the principal and seven teachers and took in all eight for questioning.

Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸) and DPP New Taipei City Councilor Li Chien-ping (李倩萍) held a press conference on Wednesday (June 7) at New Taipei City Council on the matter. They said there are 67 children in the preschool and a toxicology test of the alleged victims came back positive for barbituates, which can cause depression of the medullary respiratory center and can be potentially fatal.

They condemned the educational staff who gave these drugs to the students as "extremely abominable."

The Education Bureau of New Taipei City Government said that it is cooperating with the New Taipei City Department of Health and New Taipei City Government Social Welfare Department to "fully protect the rights and health of young children." As early as May 15, the Education Bureau received a report of educational staff allegedly administering controlled drugs to students.

The bureau said it immediately activated the "judicial early intervention mechanism for major child abuse cases and took the initiative to report the allegations to the New Taipei City Prosecutor's Office to start a judicial investigation.

According to the bureau, if the charges are found to be true, the accused teachers will be punished. If they are found to have breached the Statute for Preschool Educators (教保服務人員條例), they could face a maximum fine of NT$600,000 and a lifetime ban on serving as a teacher, reported UDN.