Singaporean woman admits to conspiring to abuse Megan Khung, helping dispose of her body

A Singaporean woman pleaded guilty on Monday to conspiring with a friend and the friend’s boyfriend to abuse four-year-old Megan Khung, and helping to dispose of the child’s body after she died following months of abuse.

Nouvelle Chua Ruoshi, 36, pleaded guilty to three charges, including conspiracy to commit child abuse, intentional disposal of a corpse and methamphetamine consumption, The Straits Times reported.

Three further charges for conspiracy to commit child abuse will be considered when she is sentenced on November 13.

During the court hearing, video clips showing Megan being abused, some filmed by Chua, were played in court. The judge warned that the footage was distressing and told those who wished to leave the courtroom could do so, CNA reported.

Chua was arrested in July 2020 after Megan’s father reported concerns about his daughter’s whereabouts, according to the Singapore High Court’s written judgment in the cases against Megan’s mother, Foo Li Ping, and Foo’s then-boyfriend, Wong Shi Xiang.

Megan endured 13 months of abuse before she died from a punch to the stomach in February 2020, the High Court judgment said. The couple were subsequently charged over their roles in the abuse and disposal of Megan’s body.

Court documents showed that Megan was born to Foo and her then husband, Khung Wei-nan, on October 4, 2015. After their marriage broke down, Foo sent Megan to live with her maternal grandmother.

Foo began a relationship with Wong in November 2018 and moved in with him in January 2019, while Megan continued living with her grandmother and stayed at the couple’s flat on some weekends. The abuse began during one of these stays in late February or early March 2019.

Chua, who became close friends with Foo in 2019, also stayed at the flat with Megan. She witnessed and filmed some of the abuse, including incidents in which Megan was humiliated and physically mistreated.

From January 2020, Foo and Wong increasingly deprived Megan of food. On February 21, 2020, after being starved throughout the day, Megan was punched in the stomach by Wong, causing her back to hit a wall with a loud thud.

Chua arrived at the flat after midnight the following day and saw Megan lying on the bedroom floor, clutching her stomach and complaining of pain. Foo and Wong dismissed the child’s distress as attention-seeking, and Chua joined them in taking drugs in the living room.

Several hours later, Megan was unresponsive. The three adults attempted to resuscitate her but did not call an ambulance. Foo feared that the abuse and their drug use would be discovered.

A forensic pathologist with Singapore’s Health Sciences Authority said in October 2021 that possible causes of Megan’s death included septicaemia resulting from internal injuries, such as a ruptured intestine or abdominal bleeding, according to the High Court judgment.

The three left Megan’s body in the flat while discussing how to dispose of it and conceal her death. On May 8, 2020, Chua accompanied Foo and Wong as they arranged to burn Megan’s body in a metal barrel. Wong later scattered the ashes at sea.

Megan’s father reported her missing on July 20, 2020. Police brought the three suspects in for questioning, arresting Foo and Wong on July 23 and Chua the following day.

Foo was sentenced to 19 years in prison in April 2025 for offences including child abuse, allowing the death of a child and disposing of a corpse.

Wong was sentenced that month to 30 years in prison and 17 strokes of the cane for offences including culpable homicide, disposal of a corpse and drug-related offences.

The case sparked public anger and renewed scrutiny of Singapore’s child protection system, with social media users expressing disbelief at the treatment of Megan and calling for stronger penalties for child abuse.

“Cannot imagine a mother can be so cruel to her own daughter,” one user commented on social media. “May this be a strong message to everyone, especially those not prepared to be parents,” another said.

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In October 2025, a review panel convened by Singapore’s Ministry of Social and Family Development identified serious shortcomings across the agencies responsible for Megan’s welfare.

That same month, Masagos Zulkifli, minister for social and family development of the city state, apologised for the lack of timely intervention by government agencies in Megan’s case.

“As the lead for the national child protection system, I would like to say that we are sorry for the outcome,” Zulkifli said. “We will do everything possible to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.”

The ministry said in September that it had launched a new unit to gather relevant information from different agencies to detect potential cases of child abuse earlier and help professionals provide frontline support sooner.

Chua’s case came shortly after another child-abuse case in Singapore, in which a couple were sentenced on October 21.

Chloe Gan Ci Xuan, 23, and Neo Jia Ming, 27, were sentenced to 15 years and three months’ jail and 16 years’ jail, respectively, for offences related to the death of their eight-month-old son, Trevor Neo Yu Hin, CNA reported.

Trevor suffered violence and suffocation at the hands of Gan and Neo over seven months, when the couple wanted him to stop crying. He died in September 2024 after Gan repeatedly smothered him.

Gan and Neo were charged with causing and allowing the death of a child, respectively, as well as ill-treating Trevor, among other offences.

Under Singaporean law, the maximum penalty for causing or allowing the death of a child under 14 years of age is life imprisonment and liability to a fine or caning.

Meanwhile, the penalty for disposing of a corpse with intent to impede discovery, identification or criminal investigation is up to seven years’ jail.