The brutal death of Megan Khung in February 2020, and the spate of horrific deaths of children at the hands of sadistic abusers before this, deeply concern us at ReadAble – Literacy for Life.
We mourn the loss of these children and seek to honour them:
| Zabelle Peh | Jan 2023 death, 2 months old |
| Unnamed girl1 | Nov 2020 death, 11 years old |
| Megan Khung | February 2020 death, 4 years old |
| Izz Fayyaz Zayani Ahmad Umaisyah | Nov 2019 death, 9 months old March 2014 death, 2019 discovery, 2 years old |
| Nursabrina Agustiani Abdullah | Sept 2018 death, 4 years old |
| Ayeesha | Aug 2017 death, 5 years old |
| Unnamed boy2 | Oct 2016 death, 5 years old |
| Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser | Nov 2015 death, 2 years old |
Every child needs safety and care. While responsibility for these children’s deaths lies solely with their killers, our network of care in Singapore has let them down. We worry in particular that several of these deaths, or their discoveries, took place within a short timeframe. In the three years before Megan, four other children’s violent deaths were discovered. And within three years of her death, two more children have been killed.
This pattern suggests there are gaps in our detection and reporting systems. The question is identifying where these gaps are, and what needs to be done so that such preventable tragedies never happen again.
1 Stepfather Fazli Selamat and mother Roslinda Jamil
2 Parents Azlin Arujunah and Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman
The Straits Times’ report on the 10 months leading up to Megan’s death raises many questions. Injuries were observed on Megan as early as 10 months before her death. Her caseworkers implemented a Temporary Care Plan and submitted a report to ECDA in early April. The same caseworkers contacted both ECDA and a Child Protection Services Centre in September 2019, after Megan’s mother withdrew her from school. The caseworkers together with Megan’s grandmother filed a police report in January 2020. All this was done before Megan’s death in February 2020. Alarm bells were set off to multiple relevant authorities, and yet Megan was not kept safe.
Child safety should be a national priority. It is important to understand what the various agencies did upon receiving information from Megan’s caseworkers at each point, what decisions were taken, and why.
We have the following questions:
- Was protocol followed at each point? If it was, does protocol need to be improved?
- Do our care practices adhere to international best standards?
- What are the pressures on the care sector that lie beyond the social agencies’ control? Might they be best addressed by other Ministries or third parties?
- What are the societal attitudes and cultural norms that, when taken to an excess, create abuse-enabling environments?
With child safety as a national priority, a cross-sectoral approach might reveal more gaps to close in our society’s care for vulnerable children. Indeed, workers across the care sector agree that the system failed to protect Megan, and it is not any one agency’s sole responsibility.
ReadAble calls for an independent inquiry into Megan’s death. Our priority is to seek accountability and genuine answers to the above questions. The inquiry may find that the system had worked robustly and well, and nothing more could have been done for Megan. This would also be important to know. But if the inquiry finds that the care sector needs more support and resources, then society must provide it. What is certain is that there is no room for even one more preventable death of a defenseless child at the hands of abusers.
12 April 2025
Board and Management of ReadAble Ltd
Michelle Yeo
Limonium Sua
Germaine Ong
Nabilah Said
Cindy Tay
Bernice Lee
Jeannette Yeo