Megan Khung deserved better. It takes all of us to keep other children like her safe

Beyond stronger protocols and processes, a shared mindset on tackling abuse is needed

- Theresa Tan

The death of four-year-old Megan Khung, who suffered horrific abuse at the hands of her mother and her former boyfriend, has shocked many Singaporeans.

Topmost on people's minds are these questions: Why did Megan have to die? What more could the child protection authorities and social service agencies have done to save the child?

On April 8, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) gave a timeline of the actions taken by Beyond Social Services (Beyond), which runs the pre-school Megan attended, and the authorities involved in the case.

More than five years after Megan's tragic death in February 2020, there is now more heat than light.

In its media statement on April 8 and public replies about the case, the MSF flagged what Beyond failed to do — but said less about what it actually did to try to keep Megan safe.

In a statement on the night of April 1, the ministry said it will conduct a further review on the Megan Khung case, which will cover the responses of all parties involved — including Beyond, the Early Childhood Development Agency (ECDA), MSF's Child Protective Service (CPS) and the police.

Additional information that Beyond had shared with the MSF after the ministry issued its earlier statement will be included, and conclusions will be published after the review is done.

No single organisation can shoulder the burden and responsibility of child protection work alone. It takes a village to keep a child safe from their abusive parents.

Beyond stronger protocols and processes, what is needed is also a shared mindset that we are in this together.

In its April 8 statement, the ministry had said that the report Beyond submitted to the ECDA did not fully describe the severity of her injuries, compared with the evidence presented in court documents when Megan's mother and her partner were charged.

"This resulted in inadequate interventions by the relevant agencies," it said.