Megan Khung case: Woman who took videos of abuse, helped dispose of body convicted

A mother on Oct 26 pleaded guilty to charges related to the abuse of her friend’s four-year-old daughter, Megan Khung, admitting her role in the girl’s misery.

Nouvelle Chua Ruoshi, 36, took videos of her friend Foo Li Ping and Foo’s boyfriend, Wong Shi Xiang, abusing the child.

On one occasion, Chua, who has a daughter of her own, told Foo to make Megan eat her mucus because the crying girl was hungry.

Foo then blew her nose into a handkerchief and forced the mucus-stained item into the girl’s mouth.

Chua pleaded guilty to three charges, including one of conspiring with Foo and Wong to abuse Megan by forcing the girl to sleep at the balcony, depriving her of clothes and failing to seek medical assistance after Megan was fatally punched.

The other two charges are of intentional disposal of Megan’s corpse, and consumption of methamphetamine.

Another three charges of conspiracy to commit child abuse will be considered when Chua is sentenced on Nov 13.

These three charges relate to separate incidents, including one in which Foo forced Megan to eat her mucus, and another in which Foo slapped Megan and forced her to wear her soiled diaper over her head.

The third incident involved Wong and Chua humiliating Megan by parading her in public with her face painted.

Megan was abused by Foo and Wong for more than a year, with Chua taking videos of some of the abuse.

The physical and emotional abuse culminated in Megan’s death after Wong punched her in the stomach on Feb 21, 2020.

After the girl died, Chua helped the couple dispose of the body.

On May 8, 2020, Megan’s body was taken to a car workshop and burned in a custom-made metal barrel after the couple researched ways to incinerate a corpse.

Her remains were never recovered.

In April 2025, Foo, 30, was sentenced to 19 years’ jail. Wong, 40, who also faced drug-related charges, was sentenced to 30 years’ jail and 17 strokes of the cane.

On Oct 26, Chua, who wore a mask in court, watched calmly as the videos she took were played on the screen.

The videos showed Megan naked as she pleaded with her mother for a shirt, crying as Foo put a soiled diaper over her head, and being forced by Wong to eat food from the dustbin.

One video showed Chua guiding her daughter to the balcony to look at a frail-looking Megan.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Marcus Foo said of the videos: “There’s no hint of any concern, no semblance of an objection, nothing to suggest alarm on the part of the accused person.”

The prosecution sought around 13½ years’ jail for Chua, saying that her involvement must be seen against the backdrop of sustained abuse suffered by Megan.

But Chua’s lawyer, Thangavelu, who goes by one name, said: “She didn’t physically abuse the kid in any way.”

He sought a sentence of six years and four months, saying that Chua was present and took videos but should not be put on the same level as Foo and Wong.

The lawyer added that, unlike the couple who had the motivation to cover up Megan’s death, Chua had no reason to dispose of the body and was merely acting on their instructions.

Justice S. Mohan pointed out that the prosecutor took pains to show that Chua was not just a mere bystander, and that it was Chua’s idea to get Megan to eat Foo’s mucus. 

The judge also noted that the sentencing positions of both sides are far apart because the defence did not factor in the three other conspiracy charges.

He allowed the defence to submit further arguments on the impact of these charges on the sentence.

From July 2019, Chua and her daughter often visited Foo and Wong at their rented condominium unit.

Megan was present during most of these visits, though she began living there in September 2019, around the time Foo withdrew her from her pre-school.

Chua knew that Megan was being abused but did not take steps to stop the ill-treatment or inform the authorities.

In October 2019, she began noticing that Megan constantly had bruises and cane marks on various parts of her body.

She saw Megan bleeding from the injuries on at least one occasion.

Chua also witnessed Wong and Foo slapping and caning Megan. Once, Chua dressed the girl in a long-sleeved shirt to cover her injuries.

She occasionally took part in the emotional abuse that Foo and Wong inflicted on Megan by recording the incidents on her mobile phone.

From January 2020, the couple’s ill-treatment of Megan intensified.

They began to starve her, did not allow her to wear clothes and made her sleep in a compartment on the balcony.

On the night of Feb 21, 2020, Wong punched Megan in the stomach.

Chua arrived at their condominium unit after midnight and told Foo and Wong that Megan was complaining of pain in her stomach.

The couple dismissed this and the trio abused drugs together.

After the trio realised that Megan was dead, Chua did not seek help because she feared that her own wrongdoing would come to light.

Over the next few months, the couple stayed in hotels and serviced apartments and discussed how to dispose of Megan’s body. Chua often visited them and was aware of the discussions.

Megan’s body was wrapped and placed in a plastic box. Wong asked Chua to buy vinegar, which he used to mask the smell of decomposition.

On May 8, 2020, Chua drove Foo to the condo unit, where the box containing Megan’s body was loaded onto a separate vehicle driven by Wong.

She then joined the couple in burning incense paper in the metal barrel.

Source: The Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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