In a case that had baffled the police, Professor Khaw Kim-sun was charged with the murder of his wife and daughter who were found unconscious in a locked car in 2015 and later died in hospital.
A highly respected associate professor at Hong Kong’s Chinese University has been charged with murdering his 47-year-old wife and 16-year-old daughter, who were found dead in their Mini Cooper in 2015.
The Malaysian-born academician appeared at Sha Tin Court yesterday afternoon.
Asked if he understood the charges, he nodded and said “yes”.
He was remanded in custody and the case was adjourned to Oct 16.
Khaw is an associate professor at Chinese University’s department of anaesthesia and intensive care and also works as a senior medical officer at Prince of Wales Hospital in Sha Tin.
On May 22, 2015, Khaw’s wife Wong Siew-fing, and daughter Lily Khaw Lai-ling were found unconscious in their locked compact car pulled over on Sai Sha Road. They died later in hospital.
“(The) postmortem revealed that they died of inhaling carbon monoxide,” police said in a statement issued on Monday.
Tests carried out shortly after the deaths revealed they had 50 times the normal level of carbon monoxide in their blood.
It was understood police had carried out extensive tests with experts, including government chemists, and had sought advice from the Department of Justice before taking action.
Officers from Sha Tin district crime squad made the arrest at Khaw’s home.
At about 1.30pm on Monday, the hooded and handcuffed suspect was escorted into an unmarked police car at Ma On Shan police station before being driven to Sha Tin Court.
The couple had four children and Lily, a student at Renaissance College in Ma On Shan, was their second, according to police.
The car was bought by Hock Kim Heng Limited for about HK$325,000 in 2007, according to vehicle registration records.
Company registration records showed that Khaw Kim-sun and Wong Siew-fing were listed as directors of the firm.
When the incident happened on May 22, 2015, public support and sympathy were with the professor who bravely continued his vital work as a senior anaesthetist in the hospital hours after they were declared dead in the same hospital.
Police were baffled by the mysterious deaths and went through the yellow Mini Cooper with a fine tooth comb, hunting for clues. They had ruled out suicide and were investigating if foul play was involved.
Police sources said the mother and daughter left home in Tai Tung village in Sai Sha Road, Sai Kung, at about 2.30pm on May 22, 2015.
A jogger noticed the car parked with its engine running outside Sai O village on Sai Sha Road at about 3.30pm. He became suspicious when he returned about an hour later and found the car still parked with its engine running. When he looked inside, he spotted the two unconscious women.
The girl was in the front passenger seat of the locked vehicle and her mother was in the driver’s seat.
Firefighters broke a window to get in and tried to resuscitate them. There were no signs of a struggle and no suicide note was found, police said.
According to Apple Daily, Khaw and Wong were experiencing marital problems at the time.
The professor is reportedly dating a colleague.
The media reported that Khaw’s three surviving children are two daughters, aged 20 and 13, and a son, aged 12.
Apparently, the two younger children live in Hong Kong with their father while the eldest is studying in Malaysia.