A GP has confessed to a sinister plot to murder his mother’s long-term partner by masquerading as a community nurse and administering a lethal fake Covid booster jab.
Thomas Kwan, 53, faced trial at Newcastle Crown Court where he initially pleaded not guilty to attempted murder. However, after the prosecution presented its opening statements, Kwan altered his plea.
Initially, authorities believed that the married father-of-one employed the deadly toxin ricin in his attempt to assassinate Patrick O’Hara, 72, at his mother’s residence on St Thomas Street, Newcastle, on January 22. Yet, an expert later surmised that a pesticide was the probable agent used.
The incident involving Kwan triggered a significant response from emergency services upon the discovery of hazardous chemicals in the garage of his Ingleby Barwick home in Teesside.
The Sunderland-based doctor had already admitted to administering a noxious substance, insisting his intention was only to inflict mild discomfort.
Prosecutors argued that Kwan’s true motive was to end the life of his mother’s companion of over two decades, who subsequently contracted a rare flesh-eating disease following the injection in his arm.
The court learned that the Hong Kong-born medic had amassed an “encyclopaedic knowledge” of poisons and had researched methods of committing undetectable murder, as revealed by the analysis of his personal computers.
Peter Makepeace KC, leading the prosecution, opened the case on Thursday, stating: “Mr Thomas Kwan, the defendant in the case, was in January of this year a respected and experienced medical doctor in general practice with a GP’s surgery based in Sunderland.”
“From November 2023 at the latest, and probably long before then, he devised an intricate plan to kill his mother’s long-term partner, a man called Patrick O’Hara.”
“On any view, that man had done absolutely nothing to offend Mr Kwan in any way whatsoever.”
“He was, however, a potential impediment to Mr Kwan inheriting his mother’s estate upon her death.”
“Mr Kwan used his encyclopaedic knowledge of, and research into, poisons to carry out his plan.”
“That plan was to disguise himself as a community nurse, attend Mr O’Hara’s address, the home he shared with the defendant’s mother, and inject him with a dangerous poison under the pretext of administering a Covid booster injection.”
Kwan forged NHS documentation to set up the home visit, disguised himself, used false number plates for the journey to Newcastle and booked in to a city centre hotel using a false name.
Kwan’s mother, Jenny Leung, named Mr O’Hara in her will to the effect that he could stay in her house in St Thomas Street, Newcastle, should she die before her partner.
That decision led to her having a strained relationship with her son, so much so that the police were called when Kwan burst into her home uninvited in November 2022.
Kwan was “money-obsessed”, jurors heard, even installing spyware on his mother’s laptop so he could secretly monitor her finances.
Last November, Kwan wrote to Mr O’Hara claiming to be a community nurse called Raj Patel and offered him a home visit.
Mr Makepeace remarked: “As, I suspect, would any of us, Mr O’Hara fell for it hook, line and sinker, he had not the slightest suspicion that this was anything other than a genuine NHS community care initiative which he warmly welcomed and was grateful for.”
Disguised with a long coat, flat cap, surgical gloves, medical mask, and tinted glasses, Kwan conducted a 45-minute examination on Mr O’Hara at his mother’s residence, even checking his unsuspecting mother’s blood pressure upon her request.
Kwan, speaking in broken English with an Asian accent per the court’s information, falsely informed Mr O’Hara that he required a Covid booster, disregarding the fact he had one just three months prior.
Upon receiving the injection, Mr O’Hara cried out in pain, and a swift-packing Kwan assured him that such a reaction was not unusual before hastily departing.
Mr O’Hara’s discomfort persisted, leading to suspicions of complications.
When his arm became blistered and drastically discoloured the next day, baffled hospital medics discovered he had contracted necrotising fasciitis, necessitating the surgical removal of part of his arm to halt the spread of the flesh-eating condition that saw him placed in intensive care for several weeks.
Using CCTV footage, police tracked the imposter nurse’s path and pinpointed Kwan as a potential culprit.
A search of Kwan’s home in a high-end residential area uncovered a collection of dangerous substances including arsenic and liquid mercury as well as castor beans, which are known ingredients for synthesizing the deadly toxin ricin.
Police discovered a ricin recipe on the individual’s computer, however, Ministry of Defence toxins specialist Professor Steven Emmett, while still uncertain about the exact poison utilised, reckoned iodomethane, a common ingredient in pesticides, was the more probable agent.
Mrs Justice Lambert stated her verdict will be passed on Kwan once the Probation Service considers his potential danger to society.
She confirmed that sentencing would take place on Thursday next week.
Despite the defence’s arguments, the prosecution maintained their stance that the offence was driven by monetary motives.
In a stark warning, Mrs Justice Lambert informed Kwan, “There will be a substantial custodial term.”
In response, Paul Greaney KC, speaking for the defence, acknowledged: “The defendant entirely understands that is inevitable.”
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