According to travel records, Nancy Kissel and her three children went to the United States in March 2003 to avoid the SARS outbreak in the territory.

Travel records also show that Robert Kissel stayed behind, but left for Taiwan on April 8, 2003.

Using computer software called Netanalysis - said to be used by law-enforcement authorities in the United States and Britain - Alexander King, senior counsel for Nancy Kissel, showed the jury on computer screens in the courtroom how it was possible to search for Internet records on the Dell desktop computer used by the Kissel family in their Parkview residence.

In the demonstration, King's legal team opened up files that showed the computer was used for about 90 minutes on April 3 and 4 to search for gay porn sites, Taiwan female escort services and ``sex in HK.''

A computer forensic scientist working with the Technology Crimes Bureau, Cheung Chun-kit, agreed that, on those dates, Google searches were made for ``various types of sexual services in Taiwan.''

Kissel, 41, is accused of serving her husband a pink milkshake laced with sedatives and beating him to death with a heavy metal ornament as he lay unconscious at the foot of their bed on November 2, 2003.

Kissel told a doctor and the police at the time that her husband assaulted her while drunk after she refused him sex, and that he then disappeared.

She denies the murder charge and is out on bail.

The banker's decomposing body was found wrapped in a carpet in a storeroom at the Parkview residential complex on November 7, 2003.

The court heard Thursday that computer searches were made for ``Mpeg sex,'' ``hot male sex'' and ``Taiwan escorts'' while Kissel and her children were away.

``A number of entries were made for `married and lonely in Hong Kong,''' King said , as well as one for ``wife is a b****.''

The defense team then switched to a computer program called EnCase, which recaptures computer fragments and converts them to recreate the Web page that was originally viewed.

On April 5, the computer was used to search for ``Sex in HK,'' but only received six results. A search for ``Sex in Taiwan'' received 516,000 results.

Noting that the ``Sex in Taiwan'' page showed ``results'' from 111-120, he asked Cheung: ``Does that suggest that the viewer has looked from pages one to 111?''

``It's possible,'' Cheung said.

King noted a search for ``Used Porsches'' was also conducted in the same session.

Cheung was given four computers to examine on November 24, 2003, but he said Thursday he did not spend much time examining the Dell computer and did not discover the gay porn sites revealed by the defense.

Cheung testified earlier that the Sony Vaio laptop computer, allegedly used by Nancy Kissel, was used for a Google search for ``Rohyphnol'' on October 23 - a misspelling of the odorless and tasteless ``date-rape'' drug, Rohypnol.

Consequently, Web sites explaining that Rohypnol is often ``added to a drink without the victim tasting it'' were viewed, Cheung said.

Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Peter Chapman reminded the court that a doctor and nurse had already submitted written testimony that Rohypnol tablets were given to Nancy Kissel on October 23.

The case continues before justice Michael Lunn today.

albert.wong@singtaonewscorp.com