A comprehensive review into the death of four-year-old Megan Khung has identified multiple systemic failures and protocol breaches among the agencies responsible for her protection. The report, released in October 2025, detailed numerous shortcomings that contributed to the tragic outcome in February 2020, when Megan died after enduring prolonged abuse from her mother, Foo Li Ping, and her mother's boyfriend, Brian Wong.
The investigation revealed several critical failures across various organizations. Social workers from Beyond Social Services were found to have mischaracterized Megan's injuries and delayed reporting. The incident report describing Megan's 16 injuries, including bruises across her body and a possible burn mark, was submitted to the Early Childhood Development Agency 17 days after teachers first observed the bruises. The report also failed to mention the suspected drug use by Foo and Wong.
Child Protective Service officers demonstrated significant lapses in their response to reports about Megan's situation. Contrary to established procedures, a CPS officer did not register a call from Beyond Social Services, preventing supervisor review and further action. The officer also failed to probe adequately into the risk level despite being informed about Megan's previous injuries and the household's drug issues.
Communication breakdowns extended to HEART@Fei Yue, a child protection specialist center, which misinterpreted a referral request as merely requiring triage rather than immediate case management. Perhaps most notably, multiple agencies operated under the mistaken belief that only family members could file police reports about missing children, despite no such legal restriction existing.
The Singapore Police Force also contributed to the failures. When a report was finally filed in January 2020, an investigation officer assessed it as low-risk child discipline and failed to follow established escalation procedures. After unsuccessful attempts to locate Megan for two weeks, the officer was reassigned to COVID-19 duties without ensuring case continuity.
The review panel proposed seven key recommendations to strengthen child protection systems. These include having all child abuse cases primarily managed by specialized child protection agencies with adequate resources, establishing an appeals mechanism for risk assessment disputes, and eliminating the misconception that only family members can file police reports about missing children.
Other recommendations focus on reviewing ECDA's role in triaging family abuse cases, sharing lessons from critical incidents across the sector, enhancing child safety training for all professionals working with children, and building stronger support systems for practitioners in this challenging field.
The government and all involved agencies have accepted the report's findings and recommendations. Megan's mother received a 19-year prison sentence, while Wong was sentenced to 30 years and 17 cane strokes for his role in her death and related drug offenses.
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