Megan Khung death: Woman, 35, pleads guilty to filming abuse, helping dispose of girl's body

Nouvelle Chua Ruoshi, 35, pleaded guilty on Monday (Oct 26) to three charges, including conspiring to abuse four-year-old Megan Khung, helping dispose of her body and consuming drugs.

A close friend of Megan's mother and her boyfriend, Chua witnessed the girl's prolonged abuse, filmed some of the incidents and failed to report the matter to the authorities or seek help for the child. According to Channel NewsAsia (CNA), prosecutors are seeking a jail term of 13½ years.

Megan was subjected to physical and psychological abuse by her mother, Foo Li Ping, 29, and Foo's boyfriend, Wong Shi Xiang, 38, for more than a year before she died from a fatal punch to the stomach.

Both Foo and Wong were sentenced earlier this year to 19 years' jail and 30 years' jail respectively.

How Megan's abuse began

Megan was born in 2015 to Foo and Foo's then-husband, Khung Wei Nan, better known online as Simonboy.

Following the breakdown of their marriage, Megan lived with her maternal grandmother. Foo later began a relationship with Wong and moved in with him.

Megan started staying at the couple's flat in February 2019, marking the beginning of a prolonged and horrific period of abuse.

The child was caned for urinating on furniture and was repeatedly slapped, punched and pushed, leaving her with visible bruises, wounds and bleeding injuries.

Who was Nouvelle Chua and what did she do?

Chua befriended the couple in 2019 and frequently stayed at their flat with her daughter.

She occasionally took Megan out together with her daughter and dressed the child in long-sleeved shirts to conceal visible injuries.

Chua was also found to have recorded multiple videos of the abuse, according to CNA.

One video recorded by Chua showed Megan crying as Foo forced a soiled diaper over her head.

In the same clip, Megan could be heard saying: "Mummy, I can't see", before Foo mocked her.

In another video, reported by Mothership and also recorded by Chua, Foo was seen forcing Megan to eat mucus from a tissue.

Instead of stopping the abuse, Chua continued filming and could be heard saying in Mandarin: "Let her eat; she says she's hungry, right?"

The video also showed Megan with a shaved head and marks drawn on her face.

Chua also reportedly recorded videos of Megan while she was unclothed and, on another occasion, being kicked by an unidentified child of a similar age.

Megan's death and the cover-up

On Feb 21, 2020, Megan was deprived of food for the entire day before Wong delivered the fatal punch later that night.

Chua allegedly arrived at the flat after midnight and saw Megan lying on the floor clutching her stomach in pain, according to CNA.

She alerted Foo and Wong, but they dismissed Megan's condition as attention-seeking. The trio then gathered in the living room and consumed drugs together.

Hours later, Chua and the couple noticed that Megan had become unresponsive. Chua accompanied Wong to retrieve a defibrillator while Foo performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on Megan.

After confirming Megan's death, Wong hatched a plan to dispose of her body without informing the authorities, and Chua was aware of the plan, CNA reported.

Wong wrapped Megan's body in a blanket, layers of cling wrap and brown tape before placing it in a plastic Toyogo box. He also kept the flat's air-conditioning running to slow decomposition.

During this period, Chua continued assisting Wong, including driving him to various locations, CNA reported.

On May 8, 2020, Chua and the couple collected a customised metal barrel that had been ordered to burn Megan's body.

Chua was present when Wong set up the barrel near his godfather's workshop in Ubi and joined the couple in burning incense paper inside it, CNA reported.

Charges against Chua

Chua pleaded guilty to three charges: conspiring to abuse Megan, helping to dispose of her body and consuming drugs.

Videos recorded by Chua documented both the abuse inflicted on Megan and her failure to intervene while Foo and Wong repeatedly mistreated the child.

Chua also admitted to taking methamphetamine, or Ice, in January 2020. Investigations found she had consumed the drug about five to six times that month, and traces were later detected in her urine samples.

For disposing of Megan's corpse, Chua faces a jail term of up to seven years.

According to the prosecution, she admitted to her offences following her arrest.

swetha.sundararajan@asiaone.com

35岁的Nouvelle Chua Ruoshi于周一（10月26日）对三项指控认罪，包括合谋虐待四岁的Megan Khung、帮助处理其尸体和吸毒。

梅根母亲的密友兼男友蔡某目睹了女孩长期遭受虐待，并拍摄了部分虐待过程，但他并未向当局举报此事，也没有为孩子寻求帮助。据亚洲新闻台（CNA）报道，检方寻求判处蔡某13年半监禁。

梅根在被母亲傅丽萍（29岁）和傅的男友黄世祥（38岁）虐待一年多后，因腹部受到致命一击而死亡。

今年早些时候，Foo 和 Wong 分别被判处 19 年和 30 年监禁。

梅根遭受虐待的开端

Megan 出生于 2015 年，是 Foo 和 Foo 当时的丈夫 Khung Wei Nan（网名 Simonboy）的女儿。

婚姻破裂后，梅根和外祖母一起生活。后来，傅和黄开始交往，并搬去和他同住。

梅根于 2019 年 2 月开始住在这对夫妇的公寓里，这标志着一段漫长而可怕的虐待时期的开始。

这名儿童因在家具上小便而被藤条抽打，并反复遭到掌掴、拳击和推搡，导致她身上出现明显的瘀伤、伤口和出血的伤痕。

Nouvelle Chua是谁？她做了什么？

蔡女士于 2019 年与这对夫妇结识，并经常带着女儿住在他们的公寓里。

她偶尔会带着梅根和女儿一起外出，并给孩子穿上长袖衬衫以遮盖明显的伤痕。

据中央社报道，蔡某还被发现录制了多段虐待视频。

蔡某拍摄的一段视频显示，Foo强行将脏尿布套在Megan头上，Megan因此哭泣。

在同一段视频中，可以听到梅根说：“妈妈，我看不见了”，然后Foo嘲笑了她。

在 Mothership 报道并由 Chua 录制的另一段视频中，可以看到 Foo 强迫 Megan 吃纸巾上的粘液。

蔡美儿非但没有制止虐待行为，反而继续拍摄，还能听到她用普通话说：“让她吃吧；她说她饿了，对吧？”

视频还显示，梅根剃了光头，脸上画着图案。

据报道，蔡某还拍摄了梅根裸体的视频，以及另一次被一名身份不明、年龄相仿的孩子踢的视频。

梅根之死及其掩盖

2020 年 2 月 21 日，梅根被剥夺了一整天的食物，当晚晚些时候，黄给了她致命一击。

据亚洲新闻台报道，蔡某在午夜过后到达公寓，发现梅根躺在地板上，痛苦地捂着肚子。

她提醒了Foo和Wong，但他们却认为Megan的状况只是在博取关注。随后，三人聚集在客厅里一起吸毒。

几个小时后，蔡和这对夫妇发现梅根失去了反应。蔡陪同黄去取除颤器，而傅则对梅根进行心肺复苏术。

据中央社报道，黄在确认梅根的死讯后，策划在不通知当局的情况下处理掉她的尸体，而蔡对此计划知情。

黄先生用毯子、多层保鲜膜和棕色胶带包裹住梅根的尸体，然后将其放入一个Toyogo牌塑料箱中。他还让公寓的空调一直开着，以减缓尸体腐烂。

据中央社报道，在此期间，蔡先生继续协助黄先生，包括开车送他去各个地方。

2020 年 5 月 8 日，蔡先生和这对夫妇取回了一个特制的金属桶，这个桶是专门用来焚烧梅根遗体的。

据中央社报道，蔡某在场，当时黄某在乌美他教父的作坊附近放置了焚烧纸香的木桶，并与这对夫妇一起在桶内焚烧纸香。

对蔡的指控

蔡承认了三项指控：合谋虐待梅根、帮助处理尸体和吸毒。

蔡女士拍摄的视频记录了梅根遭受的虐待，以及她没有阻止傅和黄反复虐待孩子的行为。

蔡某还承认在 2020 年 1 月吸食了甲基苯丙胺（冰毒）。调查发现，她当月吸食了大约五到六次该毒品，后来在她的尿液样本中检测到了毒品痕迹。

蔡某因处理梅根的尸体，面临最高七年的监禁。

据检方称，她在被捕后承认了自己的罪行。

swetha.sundararajan@asiaone.com