Life Sentence for a Doctor Who Hid a Yoga Ball Gone Wrong
Congratulations, you’ve just read the most bizarre crime story of the year. A Malaysian doctor named Khaw Kim Sun was handed a life sentence after a twisted plot involving an inflatable yoga ball and a little less-than‑rational carbon monoxide.
Who’s the accused?
- Khaw Kim Sun, 53, a former anaesthesiology professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and a practitioner at the Prince of Wales Hospital.
- His outfit: a respectable surgeon who allegedly got out of the job interview room in the most unsettling way possible.
The sinister set‑up
On the night of May 22, 2015, Khaw allegedly let two yoga balls, filled with carbon monoxide, into the trunk of his wife’s yellow Mini Cooper. Those “yoga balls” sat there, slowly leaking the killer gas that later suffocated the driver, Ms Wong Siew Fing (47), and her 16‑year‑old daughter, Lily (mistakenly called Lily Khaw Li Ling), when they were found roadside.
The courtroom drama
A nine‑person jury, unflinchingly, found Khaw guilty on both counts of murder after a unanimous vote. Despite a frantic attempt to convince a judge that the drugs were for a rabbit experiment, the court saw through his alibi.
Jury verdict
- Pre‑meditated murder — no wig‑wash
- Life in prison for each count, under the High Court judge, Judianna Barnes.
Harsh reality check
After the verdict, Khaw stared at his three other children in court, shaking his head—probably the best nervous reflex a dad can muster when the judge approves a whole‑life penalty.
Why this case caught worldwide headlines
It’s not the only strangler that stirred headlines in Hong Kong. In August, University of Hong Kong associate professor Cheung Kie Chung was arrested for the murder of his wife, whose body was discovered stuffed in a suitcase in his office.
Final words
While all this drama unfolds, one thing remains clear: if you want to escape the hospital, don’t pack yoga balls into a Mini Cooper.
