Sai Sha Road murderer to get retrial after CFA revoked his life sentence

^{Khaw Kim-sun}

Khaw Kim-sun, a former associate professor of the School of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, was involved in killing his wife and daughter by placing a yoga ball filled with carbon monoxide in a private car in Sai Sha Road, Sai Kung. In 2018, he was convicted of two counts of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

Khaw filed a final appeal against his conviction and The Court of Final Appeal issued the verdict today (21/11). Chief Justice Andrew Cheung and other five judges unanimously ruled that Khaw’s appeal was allowed, revoked his conviction, and ordered the case to be remanded for retrial. Khaw needs to continue to be remanded.

The case was heard by Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, permanent judges Hon. Roberto Alexandre Vieira Ribeiro, Hon. Joseph Paul Fok, Hon. Johnson Lam Man-hon and overseas non-permanent judge Hon. Beverley Marian McLachlin. Khaw was represented by barrister Christopher Grounds.

During the original trial of this case, the prosecution invited the jury to consider that since a yoga ball air plug was found in Khaw’s home, this evidence could constitute “a strand in the rope” and support the inference that Khaw put the yoga ball into the car. When leading the jury, the judge The Hon Mrs Justice Barnes of the Court of First Instance of the High Court pointed out that if they were satisfied that the police could not find the air plug in the car, they could rule out that the deceased, Khaw’s daughter Lily, was the one who put the yoga ball into the car, because there was no reason for Lily to throw the gas plug away.

^{The car in which two women were found slumped and dying on Sai Sha Road}

The final issue on appeal in this case was whether the judge directed the jury appropriately.

Khaw’s lawyers earlier pointed out that the police only seized the yoga ball six months after the incident, but no air plug was found at that time. It was only one year after the incident that an air plug was found in his study. The whereabouts of the air plug involved in the case and whether it is related to his drawer air plug are all purely conjecture. Therefore, when the judge directed the jury, he could not infer that the air plugs seized by the Khaw family could constitute “a strand in the rope”, which would constitute injustice.

The Department of Justice believes that this case involves a large amount of carbon monoxide gas, and Khaw knew that the amount was enough to kill people, so it is unbelievable that he killed rats in his home. The original prosecutor also explained during the guidance that the relevant air plug was only “a strand in the rope.” The jury has carefully considered the disputes in this case. There is overwhelming evidence in this case, and the conviction was not inappropriate.

The case occurred in 2015. Khaw Kim-sun, an associate professor in the Department of Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Medicine of the Faculty of Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong at the time, his wife and daughter were found unconscious in a private car at the bus stop opposite Sai O Village in Sai Kung. It was later confirmed that they died of carbon monoxide inhalation. After trial, a nine-member jury in 2018 found that Khaw murdered his 47-year-old wife Wong Siew-fing, and Lai-ting, his 16-year-old daughter by placing a yoga ball filled with carbon monoxide in the car on 22 May 2015. Khaw was sentenced to life imprisonment in accordance with the law.