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For more than a year, Megan Khung was abused by her mother Foo Li Ping and Foo's boyfriend Wong Shi Xiang at their rented condo unit.
PHOTO: Lianhe Zaobao file
PUBLISHED ON February 28, 2025 4:45 PMBySelina Lum
SINGAPORE — Megan Khung was four years old when she died after suffering more than a year of humiliating physical and emotional abuse inflicted by her mother and the woman's boyfriend.
Besides being caned and slapped, she was forced by her unemployed mother, Foo Li Ping, 29, to wear her soiled diaper over her head.
Megan was also forced by Foo's boyfriend, Wong Shi Xiang, 38, a freelance mechanic, to eat food from the dustbin.
The girl was starved, deprived of clothing and made to sleep in a planter box at the balcony of the condominium where they were living, regardless of weather conditions.
A friend of the couple, Nouvelle Chua Ruoshi, 35, abused drugs with them at Suites @ Guillemard, a condo in Paya Lebar which Foo and Wong had rented.
Chua did nothing to stop the abuse and recorded some of the incidents on her mobile phone.
On Feb 21, 2020, Wong fatally punched Megan in the stomach at the condo.
Over the next four months, the trio stayed in hotels and serviced apartments as Foo and Wong discussed how to dispose of Megan's body, which remained at the condo.
They researched ways to incinerate a corpse and experimented with different designs of barrels in which they could burn a body.
On May 8, 2020, Megan's body was burned in a metal barrel Wong had specifically commissioned.
On July 20 that year, Megan's father, Mr Khung Wei Nan, 37, a businessman and content creator known as simonboy, made a police report, saying he was concerned about her whereabouts and safety.
He said he last saw her in February 2017, after which he was incarcerated.
Khung has previously been reported as serving a three-year sentence at a drug rehabilitation centre.
The police arrested Foo, Wong and Chua on July 24, 2020, in connection with Megan's disappearance. All three were charged in court in relation to Megan's death.
On Feb 28, Foo and Wong appeared in the High Court to plead guilty to the respective charges they faced. Foo's case was heard first.
She pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse, one count of allowing the death of a child, and one count of intentional disposal of a corpse to impede investigations.
Another count of child abuse will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Marcus Foo sought a sentence of 15 to 20 years' jail for Megan's mother, saying the case involved a gross abnegation of parental duties.
Not only did she fail to protect Megan, she also took part in the abuse, said the prosecutor.
Foo's lawyers, Josephus Tan and Cory Wong, who are acting pro bono, asked the court to impose no more than 11 years' jail.
They highlighted a psychiatric report which said Foo had moved from one abusive relationship to another.
They submitted two letters she wrote, one detailing her past marriage to Mr Khung, and another on her guilt over Megan's death.
DPP Foo countered that any abusive relationship had nothing to do with her failure to act. There was no evidence that Wong had asked her to abuse Megan or that he had stopped her from calling an ambulance.
Video clips of some incidents were played as the prosecution listed the acts of abuse. The footage was from recordings taken by the trio as well as a CCTV camera Wong had installed in the unit.
The mood in the courtroom was sombre, and at one point, a woman walked out with tears in her eyes.
Megan's mother appeared emotional as she watched, while Wong mostly kept his head down.
She and Khung were married in 2015, and Megan was born in October that year.
After their relationship broke down, Foo and Megan lived with Foo's mother.
Megan was enrolled in a pre-school for children from disadvantaged backgrounds in 2017.
In 2018, her mother started a romantic relationship with Wong.
In January 2019, she moved in with Wong at the condo, which he was renting. Megan remained with her grandmother and stayed with the couple during some weekends.
Between late February and early March 2019, the couple would cane Megan when she urinated on the bed and sofa.
Staff members at Megan's pre-school noticed bruises on her face, arms and feet.
They told the couple that any abuse would be referred to the Ministry of Social and Family Development.
On Sept 17, 2019, Foo withdrew Megan from pre-school.
That month, Megan lived with the couple.
Wong caned Megan at least once a week on average, occasionally slapping and punching her.
Foo did not stop him and sometimes joined him in caning Megan.
Wong taught her how to inflict pain on Megan without leaving visible marks or injuries.
On Nov 9, 2019, she forced Megan to wear her soiled diaper over her head, as she was angry the girl did not tell her that her leaking diaper was full.
Video footage showed her scolding Megan and putting the diaper on her head.
When Megan resisted, her mother slapped her. At one point, Megan was heard saying: "Mummy, I cannot see."
In late 2019, Wong recorded a video of him forcing Megan to eat food from the dustbin. On another occasion, he shaved Megan's hair to humiliate her.
Wong also drew all over Megan's face because the girl had used her mother's make-up products without permission.
Wong and Chua then paraded a crying Megan in public, which Chua recorded.
The footage showed Megan, whose face was marked with reddish pigment, walking around outside as she was led by Wong. He could be heard laughing at one point.
From January 2020, Foo and Wong controlled Megan's diet to prevent her from defecating around the flat; whether Megan was allowed to eat depended on Wong's mood.
From January to February 2020, the couple forced Megan to be naked at home. This was because the girl would peel the scabs from her caning wounds, staining her clothes with blood.
Video footage showed the naked girl, covered in wounds, repeatedly pleading with her mother for a T-shirt. Foo, who was using a laptop, repeatedly answered "huh" to the pleas.
The couple forced Megan to sleep in a planter box, measuring 3m by 1m, outside the master bedroom, to prevent her from dirtying the flat.
The box faced the afternoon sun, and Megan once suffered from heatstroke while locked inside.
She was forced to sleep in a compartment underneath the wooden planks of the box without pillows or blankets.
Video footage showed her mother eating near the planter box as Megan, naked and emaciated, cried and begged for food. Foo was heard telling the girl to shut up and refused to give her food.
On Jan 5, 2020, Foo and Chua were unhappy when Megan's nose mucus splashed on them while she was crying.
After slapping Megan, her mother blew her own nose and wiped her mucus onto Megan's face.
On Chua's suggestion, Foo forced a handkerchief stained with her mucus into Megan's mouth.
Between January and February 2020, Wong's level of cruelty escalated.
He sprayed water from the toilet bidet onto Megan's face and hit her with a water hose.
He also hit her until her jaw became crooked. Instead of taking Megan to a doctor, her mother searched online for information on how to fix dislocated jaws.
Megan's jaw remained crooked despite Wong's attempt to push it back into place.
Her mother told Wong in Mandarin that Megan looked like she "cannot make it", so he stopped hitting her.
After midnight, Chua arrived at the flat and saw Megan on the floor, complaining of pain in her stomach.
She told the couple about this, but the trio ignored Megan and took drugs together.
Hours later, Chua saw that Megan was motionless.
They tried to wake her, but she was unresponsive. They tried to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her and took turns blowing air into her mouth using a tube.
Megan's mother did not call for an ambulance, as she was worried her drug use and Megan's abuse would be exposed.
While Wong and Chua went looking for a defibrillator nearby, Foo sent a message in their group chat that said "Megan is gone".
Wong tried to resuscitate Megan by taping a metal chopstick to each end of two wires, inserting the chopsticks into a power source, and placing the wires on Megan's body.
He told the women to smoke drugs and blow the smoke through a tube into Megan's mouth, but she remained unresponsive.
The trio left the flat on Feb 23, 2020, and stayed in hotels and serviced apartments until June 2020.
As they experimented with different barrel designs, Wong returned to the flat several times.
He placed the wrapped corpse in a plastic box and kept the air-conditioner switched on to slow the rate of decomposition.
He returned with Foo on another day, and they wrapped the plastic box with layers of cling film before sealing the lid with cement. He boiled vinegar in the flat to mask the smell.
Between April and May 2020, Wong bought a leaf blower as part of the plan to burn the corpse.
He asked a signboard manufacturer to construct an "incense burning container" and provided the specifications.
On May 8, 2020, the trio collected the metal barrel and two boxes of charcoal.
Wong then drove to his godfather's car workshop, set up the metal barrel in an open area, and used the leaf blower to fan the flames.
He then put the box containing Megan's body into the barrel.
The women arrived later, and the trio burned incense paper in the barrel for several hours.
Foo and Wong remained at the site. After the fire died down, Wong swept the ashes into a trash bag.
He drove to East Coast Park alone and scattered the ashes into the sea. He then cleaned up the burning site.
The barrel was later discarded at Tampines Link, and has not been found.
Following Khung's police report, the trio were taken to the Criminal Investigation Department for interviews.
Megan's mother has been held in custody since July 25, 2020.
Court was adjourned to 2.30pm on Feb 28 for Wong's case to be heard.
He faces a total of 15 charges, including a charge of culpable homicide for killing Megan and a charge of intentional disposal of a corpse. The other charges comprise 12 for drug-related offences and a charge of causing hurt to his younger brother.
Chua's case is pending in court.
singapore
Abusive mum and boyfriend burned 4-year-old girl's body after she was fatally punched
For more than a year, Megan Khung was abused by her mother Foo Li Ping and Foo's boyfriend Wong Shi Xiang at their rented condo unit.
PHOTO: Lianhe Zaobao file
PUBLISHED ON February 28, 2025 4:45 PMBySelina Lum
SINGAPORE — Megan Khung was four years old when she died after suffering more than a year of humiliating physical and emotional abuse inflicted by her mother and the woman's boyfriend.
Besides being caned and slapped, she was forced by her unemployed mother, Foo Li Ping, 29, to wear her soiled diaper over her head.
Megan was also forced by Foo's boyfriend, Wong Shi Xiang, 38, a freelance mechanic, to eat food from the dustbin.
The girl was starved, deprived of clothing and made to sleep in a planter box at the balcony of the condominium where they were living, regardless of weather conditions.
A friend of the couple, Nouvelle Chua Ruoshi, 35, abused drugs with them at Suites @ Guillemard, a condo in Paya Lebar which Foo and Wong had rented.
Chua did nothing to stop the abuse and recorded some of the incidents on her mobile phone.
On Feb 21, 2020, Wong fatally punched Megan in the stomach at the condo.
Over the next four months, the trio stayed in hotels and serviced apartments as Foo and Wong discussed how to dispose of Megan's body, which remained at the condo.
They researched ways to incinerate a corpse and experimented with different designs of barrels in which they could burn a body.
On May 8, 2020, Megan's body was burned in a metal barrel Wong had specifically commissioned.
On July 20 that year, Megan's father, Mr Khung Wei Nan, 37, a businessman and content creator known as simonboy, made a police report, saying he was concerned about her whereabouts and safety.
He said he last saw her in February 2017, after which he was incarcerated.
Khung has previously been reported as serving a three-year sentence at a drug rehabilitation centre.
The police arrested Foo, Wong and Chua on July 24, 2020, in connection with Megan's disappearance. All three were charged in court in relation to Megan's death.
On Feb 28, Foo and Wong appeared in the High Court to plead guilty to the respective charges they faced. Foo's case was heard first.
She pleaded guilty to one count of child abuse, one count of allowing the death of a child, and one count of intentional disposal of a corpse to impede investigations.
Another count of child abuse will be taken into consideration during sentencing.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Marcus Foo sought a sentence of 15 to 20 years' jail for Megan's mother, saying the case involved a gross abnegation of parental duties.
Not only did she fail to protect Megan, she also took part in the abuse, said the prosecutor.
Foo's lawyers, Josephus Tan and Cory Wong, who are acting pro bono, asked the court to impose no more than 11 years' jail.
They highlighted a psychiatric report which said Foo had moved from one abusive relationship to another.
They submitted two letters she wrote, one detailing her past marriage to Mr Khung, and another on her guilt over Megan's death.
DPP Foo countered that any abusive relationship had nothing to do with her failure to act. There was no evidence that Wong had asked her to abuse Megan or that he had stopped her from calling an ambulance.
Video clips of some incidents were played as the prosecution listed the acts of abuse. The footage was from recordings taken by the trio as well as a CCTV camera Wong had installed in the unit.
The mood in the courtroom was sombre, and at one point, a woman walked out with tears in her eyes.
Megan's mother appeared emotional as she watched, while Wong mostly kept his head down.
She and Khung were married in 2015, and Megan was born in October that year.
After their relationship broke down, Foo and Megan lived with Foo's mother.
Megan was enrolled in a pre-school for children from disadvantaged backgrounds in 2017.
In 2018, her mother started a romantic relationship with Wong.
In January 2019, she moved in with Wong at the condo, which he was renting. Megan remained with her grandmother and stayed with the couple during some weekends.
Abuse and humiliation
She was three when the abuse began.Between late February and early March 2019, the couple would cane Megan when she urinated on the bed and sofa.
Staff members at Megan's pre-school noticed bruises on her face, arms and feet.
They told the couple that any abuse would be referred to the Ministry of Social and Family Development.
On Sept 17, 2019, Foo withdrew Megan from pre-school.
That month, Megan lived with the couple.
Wong caned Megan at least once a week on average, occasionally slapping and punching her.
Foo did not stop him and sometimes joined him in caning Megan.
Wong taught her how to inflict pain on Megan without leaving visible marks or injuries.
On Nov 9, 2019, she forced Megan to wear her soiled diaper over her head, as she was angry the girl did not tell her that her leaking diaper was full.
Video footage showed her scolding Megan and putting the diaper on her head.
When Megan resisted, her mother slapped her. At one point, Megan was heard saying: "Mummy, I cannot see."
In late 2019, Wong recorded a video of him forcing Megan to eat food from the dustbin. On another occasion, he shaved Megan's hair to humiliate her.
Wong also drew all over Megan's face because the girl had used her mother's make-up products without permission.
Wong and Chua then paraded a crying Megan in public, which Chua recorded.
The footage showed Megan, whose face was marked with reddish pigment, walking around outside as she was led by Wong. He could be heard laughing at one point.
From January 2020, Foo and Wong controlled Megan's diet to prevent her from defecating around the flat; whether Megan was allowed to eat depended on Wong's mood.
From January to February 2020, the couple forced Megan to be naked at home. This was because the girl would peel the scabs from her caning wounds, staining her clothes with blood.
Video footage showed the naked girl, covered in wounds, repeatedly pleading with her mother for a T-shirt. Foo, who was using a laptop, repeatedly answered "huh" to the pleas.
The couple forced Megan to sleep in a planter box, measuring 3m by 1m, outside the master bedroom, to prevent her from dirtying the flat.
The box faced the afternoon sun, and Megan once suffered from heatstroke while locked inside.
She was forced to sleep in a compartment underneath the wooden planks of the box without pillows or blankets.
Video footage showed her mother eating near the planter box as Megan, naked and emaciated, cried and begged for food. Foo was heard telling the girl to shut up and refused to give her food.
On Jan 5, 2020, Foo and Chua were unhappy when Megan's nose mucus splashed on them while she was crying.
After slapping Megan, her mother blew her own nose and wiped her mucus onto Megan's face.
On Chua's suggestion, Foo forced a handkerchief stained with her mucus into Megan's mouth.
Between January and February 2020, Wong's level of cruelty escalated.
He sprayed water from the toilet bidet onto Megan's face and hit her with a water hose.
He also hit her until her jaw became crooked. Instead of taking Megan to a doctor, her mother searched online for information on how to fix dislocated jaws.
Megan's jaw remained crooked despite Wong's attempt to push it back into place.
The fatal blow
On the night of Feb 21, 2020, Wong scolded Megan and punched her in her stomach, causing her back to hit the wall with a loud thud.Her mother told Wong in Mandarin that Megan looked like she "cannot make it", so he stopped hitting her.
After midnight, Chua arrived at the flat and saw Megan on the floor, complaining of pain in her stomach.
She told the couple about this, but the trio ignored Megan and took drugs together.
Hours later, Chua saw that Megan was motionless.
They tried to wake her, but she was unresponsive. They tried to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation on her and took turns blowing air into her mouth using a tube.
Megan's mother did not call for an ambulance, as she was worried her drug use and Megan's abuse would be exposed.
While Wong and Chua went looking for a defibrillator nearby, Foo sent a message in their group chat that said "Megan is gone".
Wong tried to resuscitate Megan by taping a metal chopstick to each end of two wires, inserting the chopsticks into a power source, and placing the wires on Megan's body.
He told the women to smoke drugs and blow the smoke through a tube into Megan's mouth, but she remained unresponsive.
The trio left the flat on Feb 23, 2020, and stayed in hotels and serviced apartments until June 2020.
As they experimented with different barrel designs, Wong returned to the flat several times.
Hiding the corpse
To prevent Megan's body from being discovered, he wrapped the corpse in a blanket, followed by layers of cling film, and brown tape.He placed the wrapped corpse in a plastic box and kept the air-conditioner switched on to slow the rate of decomposition.
He returned with Foo on another day, and they wrapped the plastic box with layers of cling film before sealing the lid with cement. He boiled vinegar in the flat to mask the smell.
Between April and May 2020, Wong bought a leaf blower as part of the plan to burn the corpse.
He asked a signboard manufacturer to construct an "incense burning container" and provided the specifications.
On May 8, 2020, the trio collected the metal barrel and two boxes of charcoal.
Wong then drove to his godfather's car workshop, set up the metal barrel in an open area, and used the leaf blower to fan the flames.
He then put the box containing Megan's body into the barrel.
The women arrived later, and the trio burned incense paper in the barrel for several hours.
Foo and Wong remained at the site. After the fire died down, Wong swept the ashes into a trash bag.
He drove to East Coast Park alone and scattered the ashes into the sea. He then cleaned up the burning site.
The barrel was later discarded at Tampines Link, and has not been found.
Following Khung's police report, the trio were taken to the Criminal Investigation Department for interviews.
Megan's mother has been held in custody since July 25, 2020.
Court was adjourned to 2.30pm on Feb 28 for Wong's case to be heard.
He faces a total of 15 charges, including a charge of culpable homicide for killing Megan and a charge of intentional disposal of a corpse. The other charges comprise 12 for drug-related offences and a charge of causing hurt to his younger brother.
Chua's case is pending in court.
