A four-year-old girl who was tortured for more than a year, forced to sleep in a balcony plant pot and made to eat from a bin died in Singapore in February 2020, with her body later burned in a metal drum and her ashes scattered at sea.
Megan Khung Yu Wai died after suffering months of extreme violence and neglect by her mother, her mother's boyfriend, and their friend. The case concluded today (November 13), when the third and final person involved, Nouvelle Chua Ruoshi, was sentenced to 13 years in prison, according to Channel NewsAsia and The Straits Times.
Abuse began after parents' divorce
After Megan's parents divorced, her mother, Foo Li Ping, moved in with her boyfriend, Wong Shi Xiang, in early 2019. Prosecutors said the abuse began around February 2019 and escalated over roughly 13 months, with the girl allegedly subjected to repeated beatings and humiliation.
The court heard she was caned, slapped and starved, and was sometimes forced to stay naked so blood from open wounds would not stain her clothes. She was also made to eat food from a dustbin, had a soiled nappy put over her head, and was made to sleep outside on the balcony in a planter box exposed to the weather.
Fatal injuries and attempted concealment
Megan's fatal injuries were inflicted on February 21, 2020, the court was told. Prosecutors reportedly said she had been deprived of food that day before Wong punched her forcefully in the stomach. Instead of seeking medical help as she lay in agony, the adults allegedly ignored her and took drugs. Megan reportedly died from ruptured internal organs and a severe blood infection.
After she died, the trio attempted to conceal the crime, prosecutors said. They allegedly kept Megan's body in the air-conditioned flat for months to slow decomposition. On May 8, 2020, they are said to have moved her remains to a car workshop where her body was burned in a custom-made metal barrel. Wong later scattered her ashes into the sea at East Coast Park, and her remains were never recovered, reports said.
Sentencing of the three defendants
The case only came to light in July 2020 after Megan's biological father, Khung Wei Nan, known locally as "Simonboy", reported her missing. Wong and Foo were sentenced in April 2025. Wong was jailed for 30 years and given 17 strokes of the cane for culpable homicide, drug offences, and disposing of a corpse. Foo was jailed for 19 years for child abuse, allowing the death of a child, and disposing of a corpse.
Nouvelle Chua Ruoshi, 36, was the final defendant to be sentenced, and reports said she filmed videos of Megan's humiliation, encouraged the abuse and helped burn the body.
