Time for an independent child fatality review panel to prevent more tragedies

The recent sentencing in Megan Khung's case (Abuse, death of four-year-old girl: Mum jailed 19 years, boyfriend gets 30 years' jail, 17 strokes, April 3) and the subsequent review of inter-agency processes (Info from Megan Khung's pre-school gave no reason for ECDA to suspect girl's abuse: MSF, April 8) have brought to light deep concerns for Singapore to reflect upon as a society.

- Cindy Tay Hui Mei

The Singapore Children's Society has rightly proposed stronger training and capacity-building initiatives, and the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) has implemented procedural improvements to strengthen the child protection system.

However, beyond improving detection and response mechanisms, Megan's case highlights a more profound issue: the growing fear, sorrow and mistrust that tragic cases like hers leave in their wake — among the public, communities and even professionals tasked with protecting children.

When such tragedies occur, they shake confidence in the system and leave many painful questions unanswered. If we are to truly rebuild public trust and demonstrate that every effort is being made to learn from these fatal outcomes, Singapore must seriously consider establishing an independent child fatality review panel, legislated under the Children and Young Persons Act (CYPA).

This panel would be empowered by law to: