MSF sheds light on factors that contributed to Megan Khung’s death
The heartbreaking case of 4-year-old Megan Khung, who died after enduring over a year of horrific abuse, has rattled the nation.
In a statement on Monday (8 April), the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) revealed several missed intervention opportunities that may have prevented her tragic death in 2020.
For over a year, Megan was subjected to physical and emotional abuse. She was repeatedly beaten, forced to wear soiled diapers over her head and consume food from the dustbin.
After taking a fatal punch to the stomach in February 2020, her mother and her then boyfriend burned her body in a metal barrel.
No one stepped to intervene
Megan was enrolled in the Healthy Start Child Development Centre (HSCDC), a preschool run by social service agency Beyond Social Services (BSS).
In March 2019, preschool staff noticed injuries on her body and filed a report with the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) in April that year.
However, MSF stated that the report failed to convey the full severity of Megan’s injuries, leading to insufficient action by the relevant authorities.
Because of this, Child Protective Services (CPS) — which has the authority to remove children from unsafe homes — was not alerted.
Source: Google Maps
Social service agency’s report on Megan concluded she was happy: MSF
BSS drew up a care plan shortly after, with Megan’s mother, Foo, agreeing to have her daughter live with her grandmother.
According to MSF, the agency’s internal report concluded that Megan “appeared happy”, showed no new injuries, and had been attending preschool daily since 19 March 2019.
Foo was described as “consistently cooperative and actively involved” in Megan’s school activities and parenting programmes.
This led BSS to classify the case as one of “excessive discipline” rather than “sustained abuse”, Channel News Asia reported.
The grandmother was also assessed as a stable and trustworthy caregiver.
BSS told CNA, “Our intent was to ensure Megan’s immediate safety while working with her family toward a longer-term, more protective caregiving arrangement.”
Subsequently, ECDA followed up with the preschool and saw that Megan was well and attending school daily.
“Based on the information presented by the preschool, there was no reason for ECDA to suspect child abuse,” MSF said.
Megan pulled out of school before shortly disappearing
In Sept 2019, Megan was suddenly withdrawn from HSCDC. The school made repeated attempts to contact her mother to confirm her safety, but all calls and messages went unanswered.
Source: @simonboyyyyyyy on Instagram
BSS consulted a Child Protection Specialist Centre, a community agency that handles low to moderate risk child abuse cases. They were advised to continue working with Megan’s grandmother to check up on her in person.
Upon reaching out, Megan’s grandmother “was hesitant to file a police report”, fearing she would lose all contact with her granddaughter if her daughter cut ties completely.
In Oct 2019, BSS contacted ECDA again to report Megan’s school withdrawal. ECDA found no new records of Megan’s enrolment in other preschools and advised BSS to inform the police.
But it wasn’t until January 2020, after the grandmother admitted she had lost all contact with her daughter and granddaughter, that a police report was finally lodged.
In February 2020, Megan was dead.
‘School & agency should have reported more decisively, but it did not’: MSF
MSF stated that the preschool and social agency failed to use existing screening and reporting tools for suspected abuse.
“If they had done so, they would have recognised that the injuries were significant, reported them accurately as suspected intrafamilial child abuse, and consulted ECDA or CPS urgently,” said the ministry.
The school and agency should have reported more decisively to CPS, but they did not, they added.
MSF to strengthen child protection ecosystem
In light of Megan’s case, MSF said it would be implementing stronger protocols to close the gaps in Singapore’s child protection ecosystem.
These protocols include:
- Increased public awareness and channels to report abuse
- Clear requirements for social service agencies (SSAs) when they encounter difficulties locating a child
- Tightened protocols for assessing children both in person and through video calls
- Enhanced post-reunification processes
- Strengthened Family Service Centres (FSCs), supervision structures and case management practices
- Improved protocols in preschools
“Every death reminds us we still have some way to go, in our protection systems, and as a society,” MSF said.
“With each case, we learn what was missed, and strengthen our systems, processes, practices, and policies so that we can prevent more deaths.”
Also read: Mother who tortured & killed 4-year-old Megan Khung gets 19 years in jail, boyfriend gets 30 years
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Featured image adapted from @simonboyyyyyyy on Instagram and Instagram.
