Wong inflicted the fatal blow on Megan on Feb 21, 2020. He punched Megan’s stomach, which led to her death the next day.
The trio then took a series of steps to conceal the crime and burnt Megan’s body in a barrel on May 8, 2020.
Megan’s death only came to light after Mr Khung lodged a police report on Jul 20, 2020, stating that he last saw Megan and Foo in February 2017 before his incarceration, and that he was concerned about Megan’s whereabouts and safety.
PAST ARGUMENTS ON SENTENCE
For Foo, the prosecution sought 15 to 20 years’ jail, while pro bono defence lawyers Cory Wong and Josephus Tan of Invictus Law asked for not more than 11 years.
During his arguments on sentencing, Mr Wong told the court how Foo had moved from one abusive relationship to another.
An Institute of Mental Health report stated that Foo had an adjustment disorder with depressed mood at the time of the offence as she was trapped in an abusive relationship with Wong.
“With that, it is telling that (Foo) was herself a victim in all of this and had also suffered at the hands of (Wong). While this does not absolve (Foo) of her wrongdoing, we humbly urge the court to look at (Foo’s) plight in this light,” the defence lawyers said.
The lawyers also submitted two letters by Foo, detailing her domestic abuse and expressing her remorse at how that had “spilt over” towards Megan.
However, Justice Hoo did not give these letters any mitigating weight. Even if the allegations of domestic abuse were true, these did not absolve Foo of any liability, she said.
She agreed with the prosecution that Foo should not externalise any wrongdoing against her to justify her “deplorable actions”.
For Wong, the prosecution argued for a jail term of 28 to 30 years and 15 to 17 strokes of the cane, while his defence lawyer Vinit Chhabra urged the court to jail his client for between 20 and 22 years, with 11 strokes of the cane.
The prosecution highlighted how Wong had continually hurt Megan to the point that her jaw became crooked in one instance.
“A complete picture of Megan’s suffering, and the horror she faced in the process, is withheld from the court, due to Wong’s efforts to destroy evidence,” said the prosecution.
“Nonetheless, this court is offered a glimpse: Megan had sustained multiple ‘blue-black’ marks with bleeding on her back and a big bruise on her left cheek.
“More shockingly, her extensive weight loss, which can be objectively gleaned from photographs, speaks volumes as to the duration and extent to which the three- to four-year-old had been starved by the very persons she was reliant on.”
Justice Hoo noted that in Wong’s plea, he sought to downplay his criminality by saying that he was under the influence of drugs and was merely trying to discipline Megan.
These arguments were plainly without merit, the judge said.
