Megan Khung's death: At least 7 other fatal child abuse cases in Singapore over past 10 years
(From left) Megan Khung, Izz Fayyaz Zayani Ahmad and Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser are among cases of children who died after being abused by those supposed to protect them.PHOTOS: INSTAGRAM, FACEBOOK, MANAF AL ANSARI
SINGAPORE – On April 8, the Ministry of Social and Family Development (MSF) highlighted some gaps that led to the death of Megan Khung, four, who died after her mother and her mother's boyfriend abused her.
The Straits Times looks at cases since 2015 of children who died after being abused by those supposed to protect them.
2023
A baby was less than two weeks old when she was abused by her parents. She died two months after she was born when her mother forcefully dropped her into a cot in January 2023.
Zabelle Peh was slapped on the face and bitten on the forearm by her mother. Her father admitted to forcefully pushing the tip of a milk bottle into her mouth and throwing her into a cot.
On Jan 8, 2023, Zabelle's mother Sim Liang Xiu threw her into a cot because she was upset that the baby had soiled herself. Sim pleaded guilty to culpable homicide and was sentenced to eight years' jail in April 2025.
Her husband Peh Wei Jian was sentenced to seven years' jail for failing to take reasonable steps to protect Zabelle from Sim's acts.
2020
A girl was only 11 when she was hit by her stepfather with a wooden backscratcher and made to eat chilli padi until she vomited.
On Nov 6, 2020, the man swung an exercise bar at the girl's head repeatedly, inflicting blows that led to her death four days later.
Mohamad Fazli Selamat was sentenced to 15 years and 11 months' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
The girl's mother Roslinda Jamil, who did not protect her daughter, was handed a jail term of seven years, eight months and three weeks. She had helped cover up past incidents of abuse, and also abused the child several times.
When the girl did not attend school for two months, two representatives from the school visited the flat, but the couple did not let them in.
A month before her death, an officer from the Child Protective Service under MSF got on a video call with the girl, but did not observe any injury on her as she was wearing long-sleeved pyjamas and made to sit at a spot with dim lighting.
2019
Nine-month-old Izz Fayyaz Zayani Ahmad was murdered by his mother's boyfriend Mohamed Aliff Mohamed Yusoff.PHOTO: FACEBOOK
A man murdered his girlfriend's nine-month-old son by pushing the baby's head against the floorboard of his van in November 2019.
Mohamed Aliff Mohamed Yusoff was sentenced to life imprisonment and 15 strokes of the cane in August 2022.
The High Court rejected Aliff's claim that Izz Fayyaz Zayani Ahmad had hit his head after accidentally falling from his right arm.
High Court judge Mavis Chionh said Aliff's actions after causing the baby's death showed a disturbing lack of remorse.
Instead of seeking medical attention, Aliff had suggested to his girlfriend that they should pay someone to bury Izz and report him as missing a year later.
2018
A four-year-old girl died from internal bleeding in the abdomen after her stepfather kicked her for urinating on the floor.
On Sept 1, 2018, Muhammad Salihin Ismail placed Nursabrina Agustiani Abdullah on the toilet bowl and hit her in the stomach. Later that day, he pushed her and kicked her abdomen twice while she was lying on the floor.
She vomited overnight and was pronounced dead the next morning.
In 2022, a High Court judge acquitted Salihin of murder, saying that although he had kicked the victim intentionally, there was no intention to strike the part of the body that was fatally injured.
He was sentenced to nine years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane for voluntarily causing grievous hurt.
In 2024, prosecutors appealed against the High Court decision, pressing for Salihin to be convicted of murder. The appeal was granted, and Salihin was sentenced to life imprisonment and 12 strokes of the cane.
2017
A five-year-old girl was confined naked in a toilet for 10 months until she died in August 2017.PHOTO: COURT DOCUMENTS
A girl, five, who had been abused by her father for two years, was confined naked in a toilet for 10 months until she died in August 2017. The girl's body was riddled with multiple scars, marks and other external injuries. She was so malnourished during the last years of her life that she ate her own faeces and the stuffing of a mattress.
Her father, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the identity of his son, who survived his abuse, was sentenced to 34½ years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
Justice Aedit Abdullah lifted the gag order on the first name of the daughter – Ayeesha – so she could be remembered.
A video played in court showed the father repeatedly pounding Ayeesha's face with his fists and kicking her as she cowered in fear.
His abuse included him grabbing the girl by her hair and lifting her up against a wall by the neck while punching her.
2016
Azlin Arujunah and Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman splashed hot water on their five-year-old son, scalding him on more than 75 per cent of his body.PHOTOS: COURT DOCUMENTS, FACEBOOK
For over a week, a couple splashed hot water on their five-year-old son, scalding him on more than 75 per cent of his body.
The boy died from his injuries in 2016, with prosecutors describing the case as one of the worst cases of child abuse.
Before his death, the boy was also hit with a hanger, pinched with pliers and confined in a cage meant for the family cat.
His parents, Azlin Arujunah and Ridzuan Mega Abdul Rahman, burned his palm with a heated spoon. He limped in pain and had blisters and peeling skin from the repeated scalding.
The couple were each sentenced to life imprisonment in 2022.
2015
An autopsy found 41 external injuries on two-year-old Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser, in a list that took up more than three pages of court documents.PHOTO: MANAF AL ANSARI
A two-year-old boy was kicked and slapped almost daily by his mother and her boyfriend during a five-week campaign of torture that ended in his death in 2015.
Mohamad Daniel Mohamad Nasser was made to stand in the kitchen or living room with his hands on his head, clad only in his diapers.
His mother Zaidah and her boyfriend Zaini Jamari also forced him to eat spoonfuls of dried chilli and stamped on his chest.
Daniel died of a head injury on Nov 23, 2015. An autopsy found 41 external injuries on Daniel, in a list that took up more than three pages of court documents.
In 2016, Zaidah was handed an 11-year jail term, while Zaini was sentenced to 10 years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.
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