A GP has been jailed after he attempted to murder his mother’s partner by poisoning him with a fake Covid vaccine while disguised as a community nurse.
Thomas Kwan, 53, has been jailed for 31 years and five months at Newcastle Crown Court.
In a meticulously planned scheme, Kwan disguised himself as a community nurse to inject his mother’s partner Patrick O’Hara, 72, with a pesticide that left him fighting for his life.
The court heard Kwan, 53, wanted to murder Mr O’Hara whom he saw as an ‘impediment’ to inheriting his mother Jenny Leung’s estate because he had the legal right to remain living in her flat if she died.
The successful GP then set up the appointment using fake NHS documents to offer Mr O’Hara a booster jab and went to his mother’s flat in Newcastle disguised in a hat, mask and coat – pretending to be a nurse called Raj Patel.
A few days after he was injected with the pesticide, Mr O’Hara was admitted to hospital and was diagnosed with the flesh-eating bug necrotising fasciitis in his left arm.
Thomas Kwan, 53, has been jailed for 31 years and five months at Newcastle Crown Court.
Kwan is seen in a selfie wearing a disguise of a fake hairpiece, beard and moustache. He took this selfie in order to create a fake ID under the name ‘Raj Patel’
Victim Patrick O’Hara leaves Newcastle Crown Court with friends after a sentencing hearing for GP Thomas Kwan
Kwan, 53, a partner at a surgery in Sunderland, is seen in CCTV footage arriving at a Premier Inn in Newcastle wearing a heavy disguise
Recalling his ordeal in court, Mr O’Hara said the jab caused ‘excruciating pain’, and led to him being in hospital for five weeks for a series of operations.
After initially recovering he recently relapsed dramatically, losing all his hair and suffering complications including fatigue, weight loss and hallucinations.
He told the court last month: ‘Overall, this incident should have been the end of me. The nature of what occurred to my body has left me speechless.
‘Had it not been for medical intervention I am positive that not only would I have lost my left arm but my life as well.’
Police initially thought the GP used the chemical weapon ricin to try to kill Mr O’Hara, but an expert believed a pesticide was more likely.
Prosecutor Peter Makepeace, KC, said Kwan had an ‘obsession with money’.
He had previously forged legal documents relating to the share he received in his father’s will and yet led a ‘wealthy lifestyle’ that enabled him to make an offer on a £2 million property in the south of England.
Ms Leung had named Mr O’Hara in her will to the effect that he could stay in her home in St Thomas Street, Newcastle, should she die before her partner.
This led to a strained relationship between Kwan and Ms Leung, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Mr O’Hara said despite a career as an environment analyst, working in buildings with asbestos, he had been in good health until tricked into having a Covid booster at home in January.
Kwan set up the appointment using fake NHS documents and went to his mother’s flat in Newcastle disguised in a hat, mask and coat.
Mr O’Hara said that day ‘my life completely changed forever.’
Emergency services outside Kwan’s £300,000 home in Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, earlier this year
He said: ‘I remember that when that needle entered my arm, I felt instant, excruciating pain, I had never in my life felt anything that painful before. I instantly thought that something had gone wrong.’
Mr O’Hara trusted the nurse’s opinion that it was ‘an allergic reaction’ and never suspected he was his partner’s son Thomas in disguise.
In the days that followed he was admitted to hospital and was diagnosed with the flesh-eating bug necrotising fasciitis in his left arm.
Surgeons cut away large sections of his arm to halt the disease and he underwent two skin grafts to move skin from his thigh to his arm.
While in hospital he was in constant pain, he said.
Mr O’Hara said with treatment and physiotherapy he recovered well, until a sudden decline two months ago. I lost almost all my hair literally overnight,’ he said. ‘I began to hallucinate in addition to numerous other ailments.’
Mr O’Hara said his doctor believes he was suffering a ‘delayed stress’ reaction. The sentencing hearing opened yesterday but will conclude at a later date.
Kwan initially denied attempted murder, but changed his plea after he heard the prosecution open the case against him.