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Fiona Chow

A former university professor brought two yoga balls filled with lethal gas to his Hong Kong home to exterminate shrews that had been attracted by the smell of Spanish ham, a court has heard in the trial over the alleged murder of his wife and daughter.
Anaesthesiologist Khaw Kim Sun, 60, told the High Court on Wednesday that he decided to bring the surplus carbon monoxide from his laboratory back to their three-storey Sai Kung home after he had tried various pest control methods in vain.
The Malaysian, representing himself in the retrial, has denied filling an inflatable yoga ball with carbon monoxide and placing it inside the family’s yellow Mini Cooper to kill his wife, Wong Siew Fing, 47, and second daughter, Lily Khaw Li Ling, 16.
The pair died in the car on May 22, 2015.
“There is no reason for me to sit here trying to defend myself if I am not innocent,” the former university professor told the jury.
He also said the timeline of his whereabouts on the day of the deaths, and other scientific evidence, would prove him to be not guilty.
Khaw told the court he eventually settled on using carbon monoxide to kill the shrews – a type of mammal he said was more difficult to eradicate than rats – after his wife engaged in a “spending spree”.
He said she had splurged on a range of items from supplements to an expensive leg of Iberico ham about 10 days before she died.

Khaw had noticed “different creatures”, including tree frogs and crabs, were drawn to the home from the strong smell of ham. He said he realised he could do a better job of eradicating the pests after asking for advice from specialists.
Khaw said his original plan was to release carbon monoxide into the soil of a flower trough that was built along the garden. Beneath the soil was a drainage pipe – which had holes to collect excess water from the plants – where Khaw suspected the shrews were crawling in from outside.
“I took two yoga balls back because I expected I might not be successful the first time,” he said.
The court previously heard that the former Chinese University of Hong Kong associate professor bought carbon monoxide for an experiment on using oxygen to resuscitate rabbits poisoned with the lethal gas in his lab.
Prosecutors had argued that Khaw had other intentions for the gas, outside his own research, as evidence had shown it had little clinical value.
But an emotional Khaw rejected the claims, telling the court every detail of his actions after learning of the deaths.
He said he had rushed to the emergency department of Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin, where he had just finished an operation, after receiving phone calls about his wife’s collapse.

While visiting his wife, he was told by the attending doctor “there was another person next door”. Khaw said he found his daughter Lily in an adjacent bed. She had stopped breathing and was without a pulse when she was found.
Khaw said he decided to conduct check-ups on the pair and found their eyes were fixed and dilated, which led him to agree with the doctor to cease resuscitation efforts.
The former university professor said he was “completely devastated” when he returned home and realised his wife and daughter were never coming back.
“The last time I saw my wife, she was on the bed … the thought that she is now in the hospital morgue … I could not even gather enough courage to walk to bed for a long time,” he told the court through tears.
He recounted the last words he had spoken to Lily, in which he told her “not to enjoy herself too much” and demanded she focus on school. Khaw said he felt a sense of guilt over the years for these final comments.
He continues his testimony on Thursday.


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Hong Kong courts

Hong Kong yoga ball murder case: ‘lethal gas was to kill shrews lured by ham’

A yoga ball brought in for evidence. The accused has denied filling a yoga ball with carbon monoxide and placing it inside the family’s yellow Mini Cooper to kill his wife and daughter. Photo: Dickson Lee

Khaw Kim Sun (centre) after being arrested in 2017. Photo: Dickson Lee

Wong Siew Fing died at the age of 47. Photo: Handout

Ex-professor in Hong Kong yoga ball murder case dismisses lawyer, defends himself

Evidence in the yoga ball murder case is taken away following previous legal proceedings. Photo: Dickson Lee

Professor Gavin Joynt testified in the High Court on Friday. Photo: Brian Wong

Hong Kong yoga ball murder case: accused ‘wanted divorce, then said no to wife’s request’

Evidence including a yoga ball is taken from a court after an earlier hearing on the case. Photo: Dickson Lee

Khaw Kim Sun covers his face with a book as he is escorted to the High Court back in 2018. Photo: Edward Wong

Professor back in Hong Kong court for retrial in yoga ball murder case

Khaw Kim Sun is alleged to have murdered his wife and daughter in 2015. Photo: Handout

News

Hong Kong

Law and Crime

Malaysian academic Khaw Kim Sun says he brought home carbon monoxide from his laboratory to conduct his own pest control


Malaysian academic Khaw Kim Sun says he brought home carbon monoxide from his laboratory to conduct his own pest control.


Crime in Hong Kong

Yoga ball murder case