‘We are sorry for the outcome’: Masagos acknowledges agencies could have done more in Megan Khung case

SINGAPORE: Singapore’s Minister for Social and Family Development Masagos Zulkifli on Thursday (Oct 23) apologised and acknowledged that agencies involved in the case of four-year-old Megan Khung’s fatal abuse could have done more when handling the matter.

“As the lead for the national child protection system, I would like to say that we are sorry for the outcome,” he said. “We cannot eradicate every risk of a child loss. But our resolve is absolute. We will do everything possible to prevent the recurrence of such tragedies.

“We will make sure that every link in our child protection ecosystem; every professional and agency; does its very best and more, to protect our vulnerable children,” he added.

Megan died in February 2020. She was abused for months by her mother Foo Li Ping and her then-boyfriend Brian Wong, before the latter inflicted a fatal punch on the girl.

Foo was sentenced to 19 years' jail for abusing her daughter and helping to burn her corpse. Wong was jailed for 30 years and given 17 strokes of the cane for his role in Megan’s death, along with other drug crimes.

Mr Masagos’ comments came after a review panel released its findings on how Megan’s case was handled by agencies involved in the case.

The agencies were the Ministry of Social and Family Development’s (MSF) child protective service (CPS); the Singapore Police Force (SPF); Beyond Social Services; Healthy Start Child Development Centre; the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA) and the HEART@Fei Yue child protection specialist centre.

The panel found that while agencies took appropriate actions in some instances, there were also gaps and examples of a lack of clear understanding and communication among them. 
 

ACTION TAKEN AGAINST OFFICERS

All the agencies that interacted with Megan’s case have accepted the review panel’s findings in full.

Two SPF officers have been disciplined internally after it was found that they failed to follow established processes when Megan’s grandmother first lodged a police report in January 2020, a month before her death.

At the time, the investigation officer assessed the matter to be a case of child discipline with low safety concern, and told the officer-in-charge of the duty team that she would follow up with contacting and tracing Megan’s mother.

The officer-in-charge hence did not raise the report for discussion in regular case review sessions with supervisors the following day.

The investigation officer then attempted unsuccessfully to locate Foo and Megan for about two weeks, before she was deployed for COVID-19 related duties.

These lapses “prevented timely and appropriate action on the first report”, the review panel said.

SPF said in response to queries that both officers were investigated for the disciplinary offence of neglect of duty. 

The investigation officer has since resigned, and the officer-in-charge was subjected to formal disciplinary actions, found guilty, and fined. The officer-in-charge is still serving in the SPF. 

MSF has also started a disciplinary investigation into the actions of a child protective service officer, following the panel’s findings.

"Depending on the findings, the officer involved could face actions ranging from counselling to financial penalty," MSF said in response to queries from CNA. "The officer could also have adjustments made to performance assessments, which carry financial consequence." 

The officer is still with MSF and is being provided with the necessary emotional support, MSF added.

The panel determined that this officer could have been more sensitive to information provided by Beyond Social Services relating to Megan’s injuries; Foo and Wong’s involvement with drugs; and concern expressed by a community worker from Beyond Social Services.

The officer also did not register a call from Beyond Social Services, contrary to established processes in CPS at that time, the panel noted. “As a result, the call was not discussed further with the supervisor on duty, as was the standard treatment for all calls to CPS.”

Other shortcomings in the way Beyond Social Services and HEART@Fei Yue handled Megan’s case were also laid out in the panel’s report.

In response to queries from CNA, Beyond Social Services said that the decisions made by their staff at the time were "based on professional judgement, exercised within the protocols that existed then". 

But while there was no finding of misconduct of breach of procedure, "this does not take away from our responsibility to do better", said Beyond Social Services. 

The agency said that since the incident, it has retrained staff, strengthened supervision and introduced new safeguards to ensure that "every child we walk alongside is better protected".

HEART@Fei Yue said that it will not be taking disciplinary action against the officer concerned as the issue relates to procedures rather than individual conduct.

Based on the recommendation by the panel to take the case as a referral rather than a referral for triage, HEART@Fei Yue recognises the need for tighter protocols and has since strengthened its processes, the organisation added in its response. 

RESPONSES FROM AGENCIES

The agencies involved also addressed the media on Thursday, acknowledging the panel’s findings and how they could have done better, while outlining improvements they have made in recent years.

Ms Carmelia Nathen, director of protective services at MSF, said the agency will continue to improve and strengthen safe practices, inter-agency coordination and collaboration, and capability building in partners and staff.

“CPS has since ensured that all incoming calls to (the) national anti-violence and sexual harassment helpline (NAVH) are automatically recorded, transcribed and logged as a case record in the case management system,” she said. “This ensures accountability and allows us to periodically review and strengthen frontline services, staff training and ultimately, provide more consistent support to children at risk.”

SPF’s deputy commissioner of investigation and intelligence Zhang Weihan said processes and systems are in place to ensure police reports receive the “right level of attention” based on the facts and circumstances of each case, and are then followed up promptly.

In a written statement, ECDA said it will continue to improve training and workflows for preschools, so that suspected child abuse cases are identified and reported in a timely manner.

Mr Alvin Yapp, president of Beyond Social Services, said the organisation wants to learn from this incident to ensure it “cannot ever happen again”. “Our incident report should be more timely and complete, and for this, we are deeply sorry.”

Since 2020, the agency has introduced measures like team-based escalation led by child protection specialists; tightened reporting and record-keeping; and formalised handovers to agencies leading such cases, especially when risk is elevated or a child cannot be sighted.

“We remain accountable,” said Mr Yapp. “We will continue working as one network, and we will keep strengthening our practices so that every child’s safety always comes first.”

In another response to CNA, Beyond Social Services said the tragedy has had a "profound emotional impact" on its staff. 

"They continue to carry the weight of what happened deeply. Our focus is on supporting them as they continue their work, while ensuring that the lessons learned are translated into stronger protection and care for every child we serve," said Beyond Social Services.

HEART@Fei Yue said that as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen community-based child protection work, the organisation engages the NAVH and consults with protective service when information is insufficient or when there are challenges in conducting a comprehensive risk assessment.

In circumstances where parents block access to the child and child protection concerns are identified, the organisation will activate established protocols to lodge a police report within 24 hours, with a concurrent alert to protective service.

“Child protection is a complex and demanding area of work that calls for continuous learning, strong systems and collaboration among partners,” said Mr Arthur Ling, chief executive officer of Fei Yue Community Services. “We take the panel's recommendations seriously and will continue to strengthen our practice and work closely with families and partners to better support those we serve.”

LEARNING FROM THE PAST

Mr Masagos noted that the review panel had acknowledged “concerted efforts” since 2020 to strengthen the child protection ecosystem.

“We have drawn on lessons from past cases, including Megan’s case, to improve coordination capability and vigilance across the sector,” he added.

The panel also provided seven recommendations to ensure greater role clarity among professionals within the child protection ecosystem; build a more robust ecosystem with a strong culture of learning; and provide more structured support for the well-being of protection practitioners.

Speaking about the work of social service professionals in relation to child abuse cases, Mr Masagos said it was not easy and that these individuals have to persevere in navigating the “complex” relationships and behaviours of clients.

“I hope that as a society, we recognise and appreciate our protection officers for their successful interventions in many cases. They stand at the frontline doing good work on our behalf,” he said.

“And if and when they do not succeed, as in Megan’s case, I hope that even as we want the system to do better, we all continue to support our professionals – just as they support the children and families under their care.”

Mr Masagos concluded by saying that MSF will continue to engage and work in close partnership with professionals, social service agencies and preschools to further strengthen the child protection ecosystem.

“With Singapore’s support, we will strengthen our internal systems. We will work together to improve how agencies communicate with each other,” he said. “We will learn from this incident and do better.”