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Helping Professions & Criminal Safeguards

Helping Professions & Criminal Safeguards

Advocacy Initiative ／ Criminal Procedure Reform ／ Helping Professions and Criminal Protections

The KAI-KAI Case and the Social Worker's Guarantor Status
JRF's Engagement, Stance, and Reform Advocacy

On April 16, 2026, for the first time in Taiwan, a social worker was convicted of negligent homicide, with the judgment establishing the legal interpretation that "social workers hold a guarantor status." This is not merely the conclusion of a single case, but a weather vane for the future boundaries of liability across the entire social work system. The JRF has continuously engaged from legal and institutional perspectives; this page compiles our actions, viewpoints, and reform advocacy.

First-instance judgment rendered (April 16, 2026) ｜ Second-instance proceedings ongoing, monitoring continues

Case Background

What Happened in the KAI-KAI Case?

In 2023, an infant awaiting adoption nicknamed "KAI-KAI" (real name Liu OO) suffered abuse lasting three months while placed in foster care, dying of hypovolemic shock on December 24 of that year. The exposure of the case sparked intense public shock, making it one of the most prominent child protection incidents in recent years.

The case involves two parallel criminal proceedings: the abusive foster mother Liu OO was charged with murder and sentenced to life imprisonment in the first instance in May 2025; the Child Welfare League Foundation's visiting social worker Ch'en OO was charged with negligent homicide and sentenced to two years' imprisonment in the first instance on April 16, 2026, with the second instance having dismissed the appeal.

▲ Foster Mother Liu Sisters (Murder)
Life imprisonment, 18 years
First-instance judgment on May 13, 2025
Second-instance judgment on January 27, 2026
▲ Social Worker Ch'en OO (Negligent Homicide)
First instance: 2 years' imprisonment
Judgment rendered on April 16, 2026
Currently undergoing second-instance appeal

The core dispute in the social worker's first-instance trial centers on the court's determination that social worker Ch'en held a criminal law "guarantor status" toward KAI-KAI, thereby establishing negligent homicide by omission. This is the first case in Taiwan's judicial history where a social worker was convicted under this interpretation, triggering widespread discussion in the legal and social work communities.

What is "Guarantor Status"?
In law, most crimes occur because someone "did something" (commission offenses). However, in certain circumstances, "failing to do something" can also constitute a crime—such as parents abandoning a drowning child without rescuing them. To establish such an "omission offense," a precondition is that the actor has a legal obligation to prevent a specific danger, which is known as "guarantor status." Simply put, guarantor status = duty to act; denying that someone has guarantor status is equivalent to arguing that they have no legal duty to act regarding the occurrence of the result.

JRF Perspective

Why is This a Judicial Reform Issue?

On the surface, the KAI-KAI case is a child protection incident, but it touches upon several fundamental structural issues in criminal justice:

I

Supervision of Criminal Investigation Procedures

From the investigative stage of this case, there were instances of improper handcuffing. The JRF immediately initiated a petition protesting violations of the principle of non-publicity of investigations, joined by over 200 social work organizations. During the trial, witnesses also reported inaccurate interrogation records and unexplained handwritten notes in the records, prompting our organization to continue monitoring the procedural issues in this case.

II

Is Criminal Punishment the Right Tool to Fill Gaps in the Social Safety Net?

After a criminal offense occurs, society easily gravitates toward the mindset that "only severe punishment can solve the problem," while in reality, many social reforms require ongoing discussion. For example, in the KAI-KAI case, the arrangement used was temporary childcare prior to the completion of adoption rather than formal "placement," resulting in a complete absence of public sector oversight at the childcare site—no government unit directly tracked KAI-KAI's condition. This gray area has long lacked regulatory governance, serving as one of the critical loopholes that allowed the tragedy to occur.

III

How the Judiciary and Social Work Professions Can Understand Each Other Amid Social Chain Reactions Triggered by Judicial Judgments

Following the first-instance judgment, over 1,600 social workers across Taiwan took to the streets. While the establishment of judicial trust relies not only on outcomes but also on the cumulative process of court proceedings and court observations, the points in the first-instance judgment text that clashed with social work practice remain a core focus of concern for both law and sociology.

Taiwan's Child and Youth Placement Process and Challenges Biological Family / Community Including medical, school, police, village wardens, and other community networks Due to Family Problems Children Need to Leave Home Unwed birth, poverty, substance abuse, domestic violence, and other issues 53,463 children reported needing assistance Placed Children (still in placement at year's end) 4,792 individuals Family Problems Unresolved Children Unable to Return Home Requiring psychological, parenting education, and social welfare resources to repair families, enabling children to return home Children Able to Return Home (including those placed within past years) 433 individuals Out-of-Home Placement System What Types of Out-of-Home Placement Systems Exist in Taiwan? Placement: 4,590 individuals Child & Youth Institutions / Orphanages Primarily adolescents Group living (15–60 people) Paid professional staff on rotating shifts 46% Foster Families Primarily young children Stable family environment Volunteer parents care after receiving training 33% Children still move between placements Group Homes Primarily adolescents and children with special needs Small-family environment (5–8 people) Paid professional staff on rotating shifts 3% Others Including quasi-families, kinship care Full-day babysitters, hospital stays, etc. Quasi-families: primarily young children, clustered environment 14% Kinship care: primarily young children Siblings placed together whenever possible Adoption: 202 individuals Caregivers investigated and evaluated, becoming legal parents Young children aged 0–3 have higher chances Currently institutional care is most common; family-style care ratio needs increase Pending Adoption 468 individuals Not counted in placement numbers prior to 2025 Placement Type Ratio Family-Style Care 54% Institutional Care 46% Adoption 4% Foster Families 33% Group 3% Other 14% C&Y Institutions 46% Institutional care is currently highest; family-style care ratio must increase to provide more meticulous care Remade and compiled by Taiwan Association for Human Rights / Judicial Reform Foundation ｜ Source: Right Plus referencing the 2023 Ministry of Health and Welfare Social Welfare Official Statistics Table

JRF's Actions

How We Engaged with This Issue

 
March 13, 2024
Issued Statement on Improper Handcuffing of Social Worker
Following the outbreak of the KAI-KAI case, police publicly handcuffed and escorted the social worker, sparking controversy. The JRF immediately issued a statement pointing out that this act violated the regulations on non-publicity of investigations, and criticized the systemic incentives behind "red-carpet-style escorting," prompting the police to issue demerits to relevant personnel.
Read Article →
 
December 22, 2025
Published "When Social Workers Encounter Criminal Cases"
Authored by Executive Director Attorney Li Ming-ju, this article specifically explains the legal rights of social workers when facing criminal proceedings across investigative and trial stages, along with a practical analysis of the legal implications of "guarantor status."
Read Article →
 
April 2, 2026
Published "When Social Workers Encounter Criminal Cases (Part II)"
Co-authored by Attorneys Li Ming-ju, Lai Chiu-hui, and Cheng Chia-feng, this article further explains the legal standards for reporting obligations, principles for writing operational records, and the support mechanisms institutions should establish when social workers face litigation.
Read Article →
 
April 9, 2026
Hosted "Who Guarantees Social Workers?" Forum
Co-hosted with the Taiwan NPO Self-Regulation Alliance, Taiwan Association of Social Work Education, and Taipei City Social Workers' Union, the forum's 500 spots filled up within less than a day of opening registration. Professor Wang Huang-yu, Dean of National Taiwan University College of Law, Professor Lu Ying-chieh of National Chung Cheng University Department of Law (also a JRF board member), and social work practitioners were invited to deeply analyze the controversy from both legal and practical perspectives.
Event Page → Forum Records → Post-Event Press Release →
 
April 14, 2026
Published "The 'Evil' of Omission?——An Introduction to the Contour of 'Guarantor Status' in Our Country's Practice"
Organized the practical judgment context of "guarantor status" in Taiwan, illustrating the ambiguous zones of standards with specific cases, and pointing out that having guarantor status does not necessarily equate to conviction; courts must still rigorously review elements such as "avoidability" and "possibility of expectation."
Read Article →
 
April 16, 2026
First-Instance Judgment Rendered, Executive Director Interviewed by Media
Following the judgment, Executive Director Li Ming-ju was interviewed by The Reporter and PTS Taigi, presenting legal perspectives on the construction methods of guarantor status and its impact on the social work system (on that day, the court only released a press release, with the full judgment text not yet issued). She explained the two pathways by which the court constructed guarantor status (supervision of sources of danger, voluntary assumption of protector) and how "information exclusivity" was transformed into the logic of criminal liability, pointing out that this is the first time Taiwan's judiciary has adjudicated whether a social worker holds guarantor status.
The Reporter Text → The Reporter YouTube → PTS Taigi → PTS Taigi Interview Summary →
 
 
April 26, 2026
"Chih-Chi 77" Program Special Interview Goes Live
Content covers deep dialogues on the logic of the judgment, reasons for backlash from the social work community, the difficulty of identifying child abuse, and systemic vulnerabilities in Taiwan's social safety net.
Chih-Chi 77 YouTube → Interview Summary →
 
May 4, 2026
Interviewed on "Taiwan is Happening" Program (Ep. 150)
Discussed with Shih Ming-chin and Huang Yu-fen: Is it reasonable for the social worker in the KAI-KAI case to be convicted of negligent homicide? Who can discover the truth of child abuse? Why is the social work community so angry?
Instagram →
 
May 12, 2026
Interviewed on "Right Plus" Program
Content covers three-tier arguments establishing social worker Ch'en's guilt, supervision of sources of danger in guarantor status, three major controversial points of the judgment text, subsequent reform responsibilities, and communication dilemmas between legal professionals and social workers.
Right Plus Article → Podcast →
 
May 13, 2026
PTS "P# News Lab" Special Report: Do Social Workers Hold Guarantor Status? Does the KAI-KAI Case Judgment Impact the Social Safety Net?
Executive Director Li Ming-ju was interviewed to deeply analyze the two pathways the court used to construct guarantor status (supervision responsibility for sources of danger, information exclusivity, and voluntary assumption), explaining the social work community's anxiety over "shifting organizational responsibility to grassroots personnel," controversies regarding the citation of child abuse identification indicators, and the systemic vulnerability of public power absence in temporary childcare. Suggestions were also raised regarding directions for reform, such as referencing Article 82 of the Medical Care Act to clarify standards for social workers' criminal liability and realizing the state's role as the ultimate guarantor for children and youths.
YouTube → Facebook → Instagram →
 
May 23, 2026 (Sat) 18:30–20:30
Sisi Lecture [Taipei Session] ｜ Having Said So Much, Why Still Incomprehensible?——Dialogue Between Law and Social Work
Chaired by Professor Tsai Po-fang of National Tsing Hua University, with Executive Director Li Ming-ju and Taipei City Social Workers' Union Deputy Chairperson Shen Hou-shan as speakers. Focused on the pitfalls of cross-professional dialogue: the courtroom is a highly institutionalized decision-making arena; when social workers' practical experiences enter the courtroom, they must be translated into legal language. How is the originally nuanced treatment context redefined? Where dialogues get stuck is often not merely wording, but entirely different sets of underlying understandings.
Event Report →
 
May 30, 2026 (Sat) 14:00–16:00
Sisi Lecture [Taichung Session] ｜ Having Said So Much, Why Still Incomprehensible?——Dialogue Between Law and Social Work
Chaired by Assistant Professor Huang Chao-kai of Tunghai University, with Executive Director Li Ming-ju and Taipei City Social Workers' Union Deputy Chairperson Shen Hou-shan as speakers. The Taichung session on the same theme explored communication dilemmas between legal and social work professions across different arenas (courtrooms, public discussions, policy debates) and the underlying structural causes.
Event Report →

Legal Viewpoints and JRF Stance

How Does the Legal Community View This Case?

Following the first-instance judgment, different viewpoints worth sorting out emerged within the legal community. Understanding these differences helps readers grasp the true core controversy of this case.

❶ Guarantor Status Itself is Questionable

  • Professor Wang Huang-yu: Social workers are essentially "helpers" and do not have a control relationship with their clients. Cross-institutional cooperation belongs to horizontal division of labor, and the principle of trust can apply, making it unnecessary to take responsibility for the dereliction of duty of other professions.
  • Professor Lu Ying-chieh: Based on comparative German law, if social workers are not granted public authority and do not substantively engage in intensive care, they should not be burdened with criminal liability equivalent to "actual protection undertakers."
  • Core argument: Without corresponding institutional authority, there should be no guarantor status.

❷ Guarantor Status Exists, but the Assessment of Negligence is the Key

  • Denying that social workers have guarantor status logically equates to arguing that social workers have no duty to act whatsoever regarding clients' safety, which is difficult to support.
  • The real issue is: Was the court's assessment of "negligence" rigorous? Was there sufficient professional knowledge to support this assessment?
  • Another methodological problem: The court's argument for guarantor status focused on "supervision of the foster mother," but the more precise foundation should be the "obligation to visit, observe, and report on the client."
  • The court mixed the two analytical levels of guarantor status and negligence, easily causing public misunderstanding.
Shared Concern of Both Viewpoints: Whether questioning the construction of guarantor status or emphasizing that negligence assessments should be more rigorous, all parties in the legal community have pointed out that the reasoning method of the current judgment risks infinitely expanding liability for future cases. The second instance of this case is precisely the critical timing to clarify these disputed points.
Supplement: Child Abuse Identification Issues in Determining Negligence
The first-instance judgment cited the "12 Reminder Indicators for Clinical Presentation of Child and Youth Abuse," determining that the social worker possessed identification capabilities. However, these indicators were originally designed for physicians during examinations rather than as work norms for social workers; furthermore, their release date (October 28, 2023) was later than the timing of social worker Ch'en's previous visits. Expert witness Dr. Lü Li also pointed out in court that child abuse identification is a highly professional judgment: having injuries does not necessarily mean child abuse, and the absence of obvious injuries does not mean child abuse is absent—the ultimate determination in the KAI-KAI case was synthesized from all experts and deduced backward from the result. In a scenario where the foster mother intentionally concealed abuse, expecting frontline social workers to "piece together" the truth based merely on three visits warrants scrutiny regarding its reasonableness.
Supplement: Misunderstanding of the Term "Source of Danger"
Characterizing the foster mother as a "source of danger" in the judgment text drew criticism from many, who argued this stigmatizes childcare work. Professor Hsu Wei-kuo further explained that "source of danger" is merely a technical legal term for "risk jurisdiction"—any social division of labor with a certain degree of risk may constitute a source of danger, and the court's purpose is merely to define the risk jurisdiction relationship, rather than morally condemning the relevant behavior. Just as bringing a tenant into one's own house is not a bad thing, the landlord nevertheless remains in a "risk jurisdiction" position regarding the safety of the house. This terminology itself is translated from foreign law and is indeed prone to semantic misunderstandings, which deserves greater caution from legal professionals in communication.

JRF's Core Stance

1

Continue to Observe Second-Instance Developments Regarding the Assessment of Guarantor Status, Negligence, and Causation

Regardless of the perspective adopted, the first-instance reasoning left room for deep examination. Did the standards for recognizing guarantor status possess a sense of reality? Was the assessment of the negligence threshold grounded in sufficient social work professional knowledge? Was the review of elements such as "avoidability" and "possibility of expectation" sufficient? We look forward to the second instance conducting a more rigorous analysis to avoid inferring liability based on "ex-post result orientation."

2

Judicial Trust is Accumulated Through Fair Trial Procedures, Not Just Judgment Outcomes

Monitoring of procedures in this case remains unfinished. The first-instance judgment text dismissed suspicions surrounding inaccurate interrogation records by the investigating prosecutor, deeming investigation unnecessary and using simple wording to exclude evidence admissibility. Our organization will continue to monitor this.

3

Clear Boundaries of Liability Can Stabilize Workforce in the Social Safety Net and Ensure Effective Child Protection Work

Ensuring that every child receives proper protection is the fundamental responsibility of the state. Overloaded caseloads, vacant supervisory positions, unclear cross-institutional divisions of labor, institutional loopholes in adoption and placement... these structural issues existed long before the KAI-KAI case and will not disappear simply by convicting a social worker. Public attention should shift from personal criminal prosecution to the fundamental reconstruction of institutions. Enabling frontline workers to serve their best within a clear and reasonable framework is the fundamental way to stabilize the social safety net.

Further Reading

Related Resources

Produced by JRF
Media Interviews
Legislative Developments
Judicial and Official Documents
External In-Depth Resources
Last Edited Date: July 20, 2026
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