A Malaysian anesthetist working in Hong Kong is currently on trial for killing his wife and 16-year-old daughter using a yoga ball filled with carbon monoxide. Prosecutors say that in 2015, Khaw Kim-sun “left the inflatable ball in the boot of a car where the gas leaked out…” 1 The two were later found dead inside a locked car (police also found a deflated yoga ball in the back of the yellow Mini Cooper).
Mr. Khaw has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder.
The case initially baffled police. Especially because the post-mortem exam showed his wife and eldest daughter had died from carbon monoxide poisoning. However, eyewitnesses report they saw Mr. Khaw, an associate professor at Hong Kong’s Chinese University, filling two balls with carbon monoxide- something he said was going to be used to kill rabbits. But, when questioned later by police, Khaw contradicted himself saying he planned to use the gas to get rid of rats in his home.
Prosecutors told Hong Kong’s High Court that Khaw had deliberately plotted to kill his wife because he was having an affair and she wouldn’t give him a divorce. They believe it was unlikely that he wanted to kill his daughter, though. It was alleged that he told her to stay at home to finish her homework that day.
His trial is ongoing.
