SINGAPORE: The lapse in the police's handling of four-year-old Megan Khung’s fatal abuse case occurred as a result of two officers being "under pressure" and not following "established operating procedure", said Minister of State for Home Affairs Goh Pei Ming on Wednesday (Nov 5).

Speaking in parliament, Mr Goh said this "serious breach" resulted in a "tragic outcome".

"Our frontline police officers bear a heavy responsibility to protect ... lives. They take this responsibility seriously, and perform their duties with commitment and professionalism," he added.

"The demands on our police officers continue to increase. They often have to make difficult judgment calls every day in the course of their duties. When under pressure, mistakes can happen."

The police will learn from this, and reinforce procedures as well as training for their officers, added Mr Goh.

Mr Goh, who is also Minister of State for Social and Family Development, was responding to several questions from Members of Parliament (MPs) who had asked how the police handle such cases and what can be done better in future.

Both officers were investigated for the disciplinary offence of neglect of duty and have been disciplined internally. The investigation officer (IO) has since resigned, and the officer-in-charge was subjected to formal disciplinary actions, found guilty, and fined. The officer-in-charge is still serving in the SPF. 

Megan died in February 2020. She was abused for months by her mother Foo Li Ping and her then-boyfriend Brian Wong, before the latter inflicted a fatal punch on the girl.

Foo was sentenced to 19 years' jail for abusing her daughter and helping to burn her corpse. Wong was jailed for 30 years and given 17 strokes of the cane for his role in Megan’s death, along with other drug crimes.

Mr Goh said that there were two rounds of police reports filed, with the first was made in January 2020 by Megan’s grandmother. Further police reports were made later that year in July by Megan’s grandmother and father. 

He added that the IO who handled the first police report and her supe...