My heart is dead, says Megan's grandmother

Regrets over failing to protect Megan, who died from fatal punch by mum's boyfriend

- Christine Tan

The image of her granddaughter Megan Khung being forced to eat discarded food by her abusers is seared into Madam Chua's memory.

In a video played in court, one of Megan's abusers, Wong Shi Xiang, the boyfriend of her mother, Foo Li Ping, empties a dustbin and tells her in Mandarin: "If you don't eat, I'll hit you."

Her eyes reddening and voice shaking with anger, Madam Chua, 68, told The Straits Times on Oct 24 in Mandarin: "Are they even human?"

She was especially disappointed in her daughter, Foo, who allowed Wong to abuse four-year-old Megan and even joined in the barbaric acts. Megan died after a year of abuse on Feb 22, 2020.

Madam Chua said: "I thought Li Ping would protect Megan. Even animals would protect their young."

On April 3, Foo was sentenced to 19 years' jail, and Wong was sentenced to 30 years' jail and 17 strokes of the cane. The couple's friend was also arrested, and her case is pending.

Madam Chua spoke to ST in a three-hour interview at her one-room rental flat, a day after a review panel released a report detailing lapses by various agencies between March 2019 and February 2020 that could have prevented Megan's death.

The elderly woman's eyes were puffy from crying the night before. She said the report had dredged up old memories of Megan's suffering, which makes her tear up, five years after the girl's death.

Foo was Madam Chua's only daughter from her turbulent second marriage, where her husband would verbally and physically abuse her and Foo while drunk.

He kicked Foo for making mistakes in her homework, and threatened Madam Chua once with a knife. She divorced him and took Foo with her after about a decade of marriage.

Madam Chua described Foo as an obedient and kind child, but said she fell into bad company in her teens.

Foo married her first husband, Mr Khung Wei Nan, better known as content creator “Simonboy”, in 2015 and had Megan in October that year.