Judge in Hong Kong yoga ball murder trial tells jury not to let emotions get in way just because they are dealing with problematic family
In trial of Malaysian professor accused of killing wife and daughter, judge says main issue is: ‘Who put the yoga ball in the Mini Cooper and why?’
A Hong Kong judge on Tuesday warned the jury in the trial of a Malaysian professor accused of murdering his wife and teenage daughter with a gas-filled yoga ball not to let their emotions get in the way when considering a verdict just because they were dealing with a problematic family.
High Court judge Mrs Justice Judianna Barnes Wai-ling also set out the main issue for the jury of five men and four women to consider as she began her legal direction on the 20th day of a murder trial that revolved around a family engulfed in disputes.
Chinese University associate professor Khaw Kim Sun, 53, is accused of putting a yoga ball, leaking carbon monoxide, in the car of his wife Wong Siew Fing, 47, and 16-year-old daughter Lily Khaw Li Ling on May 22, 2015, causing them to die of poisoning.
But the defendant and his lawyer contested that, suggesting Lily had placed the ball in the car, possibly to commit suicide or to use the gas as a pesticide without realising its deadly consequences.
“The main issue you have to decide is who put the yoga ball in the Mini Cooper and why?” Barnes said on Tuesday.
