Tainan: An autopsy conducted on a 13-year-old boy who died last week following alleged school bullying found no signs of external force, though the results of a toxicology report are still pending, Tainan prosecutors said Monday. Officials from the Tainan District Prosecutors Office and a specialist from the Ministry of Justice's Institute of Forensic Medicine conducted the autopsy Monday morning at a mortuary in Tainan's South District.
According to Focus Taiwan, at around 1 p.m., Deputy Chief Prosecutor Tsai Tsung-sheng informed CNA that a preliminary determination had been made, indicating no suspicious or external force was involved in the boy's death. However, to address the possibility of a toxic reaction, forensic specialists collected samples of the boy's hair and blood for further analysis. The cause of death will be confirmed once the results are available.
The tragic case surfaced on February 27 after the boy's mother posted on Facebook about his death on February 24. She revealed that a hospital blood test showed "signs of poisoning from a toxic substance." The mother also alleged that her son had been bullied for a prolonged period and was allegedly force-fed drug-laced coffee powder by classmates.
In a separate social media post, the school principal stated that the student had not attended school since February 20 due to illness and only learned of his death later from the boy's parents. Two students suspected of involvement underwent several urine tests for illicit drugs, all of which returned negative, according to the principal.
The Tainan City government released a statement on February 28, providing a timeline of events leading up to the boy's death based on records from Houbi Junior High School, where he was enrolled in seventh grade. It noted that the boy, surnamed Lin, had been diagnosed and began taking medication for ADHD in early January after being referred for behavioral issues at school.
On January 23, Lin had an argument with a female classmate, leading to a confrontation and threat from a male student, surnamed Yang, in the bathroom. Yang received a warning, but both he and the female student were later accused of bullying Lin by his family. After the Lunar New Year holiday, Lin attended school normally from February 5-12. On February 13, his family reported him sick, and the school recommended immediate medical attention and a referral to a guidance counselor.
School records indicated Lin missed school on February 17 and 18 due to severe emotional distress. He visited a doctor with his grandmother on February 20 and with his homeroom teacher on February 21. He was scheduled for a follow-up appointment on February 24. Media reports state Lin was taken to the hospital at approximately 3 a.m. on February 24 after experiencing convulsions and died later that morning.