A university professor on trial for murdering his wife and daughter by putting a carbon monoxide-filled yoga ball in the boot of his wife’s car will not take the stand, the High Court heard yesterday.
The announcement was made as lawyers representing 53-year-old Khaw Kim-sun called their first defense witness –Nicholas Buckley, a professor of clinical pharmacology at the University of Sydney.
Khaw’s decision not to take the stand comes after the prosecution ended its case by bringing in a number of medical scientists and experts who cast doubt on his claims he obtained the carbon monoxide for an experiment on rabbits.
The experts questioned whether his proposed study was clinically useful.
The prosecution alleges that Khaw plotted to kill his wife Wong Siew-fing by filling a yoga ball with carbon monoxide and placing it in the back of his wife’s Mini Cooper after she refused to grant him a divorce.
According to Ming Pao, Buckley told the court that he has experience with toxicology research on animals and humans.
He pointed out that new treatment was being studied that involves treating carbon monoxide poisoning by breathing in carbon dioxide.
When asked by the defense to read Khaw’s proposal, Buckley described it as “a first draft” saying points did have “question marks.”
Khaw denies murdering Wong, 47, and their 16-year-old daughter Lily.
The trial continues.
