Life for poison gas killer of wife and daughter

Eunice Lam

Malaysian anesthesiologist Khaw Kim Sun will serve his life sentence after a 41-day retrial in which the jury unanimously found him guilty of murdering his wife and daughter using a carbon monoxide-filled yoga ball in 2015.

The 60-year-old, a former associate professor at Chinese University, appeared calm as he listened to the jury's decision, which came after four hours of deliberation.

Khaw did not present mitigating factors and high court judge Brian Keith sentenced him to life.

In his initial trial in 2018, he was convicted on two counts of murder for placing a yoga ball filled with carbon monoxide in the trunk of the family's car on May 22, 2015.

His wife, Wong Siew Fing, 47, and their second daughter, Lily Khaw Li Ling, 16, subsequently died from carbon monoxide poisoning inside the vehicle.

Khaw appealed to higher courts and in 2023 the court of final appeal ruled that the trial judge had misdirected the jury, leading to the retrial.

Before sending off the seven jurors to deliberate at 11.33 am, the judge instructed them to consider whether Khaw had premeditated the murders and the possibility that his wife or daughter might have been responsible for placing the yoga ball in the car.

In his closing statement, Khaw referenced Wong's consultations with lawyers in 2012, which her friends had suggested, but he insisted that the couple had never considered divorce.He said they had engaged in deep discussions about their relationship and raising their two children.

Khaw maintained he had no motive to murder his wife, especially since the family had planned a trip to London.He argued that it would be foolish to kill someone with carbon monoxide as it would be impossible to remove all traces of it.

He also said he had previously purchased carbon monoxide from the university for experiments, asserting that it was well known among his colleagues, and claimed he would have created an alibi if he had intended to commit murder.