Thomas Kwan: GP jailed for trying to kill mother’s partner by poisoning him with fake COVID booster jab
A GP who tried to kill his mother’s partner by disguising himself as a community nurse before poisoning him with a fake COVID booster jab has been jailed for 31 years.
Sentencing Dr Thomas Kwan, 53, at Newcastle Crown Court, Mrs Justice Lambert said: “It was an audacious plan to murder a man in plain sight and you very nearly succeeded in your objective.”
The Sunderland-based GP had written to Patrick O’Hara pretending to be a nurse called Raj Patel in November 2023.
He offered a home visit to administer the booster jab, which prosecutor Peter Makepeace KC said was a “pretext” to inject Mr O’Hara with a dangerous poison.
Kwan disguised himself by wearing a long coat, flat cap, surgical gloves, a medical mask and tinted glasses as he carried out a 45-minute examination of the 72-year-old in January.
The visit took place at the home of Kwan’s mother Jenny Leung – where Mr O’Hara was staying at the time.
He had initially denied attempted murder but changed his plea after he heard the prosecution open the case against him.
Patrick O’Hara said ‘justice has been done’ after the sentencing. Pic: PA
Speaking after Kwan was sentenced, Mr O’Hara said he thinks “justice has been done” and thanked police and prosecutors.
“The sincerity and the professionalism they have shown has been amazing,” he added.
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.
The prosecution said Mr O’Hara had been a “potential impediment” to Kwan inheriting his mother’s estate upon her death.
Ms Leung had named the 72-year-old 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.
Thomas Kwan had forged letters to Mr O’Hara and stayed in a hotel under a fake name.
Pic: Northumbria Police/PA
The court previously heard how Kwan wrote to Mr O’Hara posing as the nurse, and how he had forged NHS documentation to set up the home visit.
He also used false number plates for the journey to Newcastle and booked a city centre hotel using a false name.
Speaking in court on Wednesday, Mrs Justice Lambert said the letters were “good forgeries,” and said Mr O’Hara and Ms Leung would not have had reason to suspect they were fake.
“By your masquerading, you struck at the heart of public confidence in the health care profession,” she told Kwan.
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In October, Mr Makepeace told Newcastle Crown Court that Mr O’Hara “had done absolutely nothing to offend Mr Kwan in any way whatsoever”.
It was noted that police were called to Ms Leung’s property after Kwan burst in uninvited in November 2022.
Prosecutors also described Kwan as “money-obsessed” and noted he installed spyware on his mother’s laptop to monitor her finances.
Mrs Justice Lambert then said Wednesday that Kwan was “certainly obsessed by money and more particularly, the money to which you considered yourself entitled”.
“Whatever the deep-rooted cause, by 2024 and well before,” she said, “your resentment and bitterness towards your mother and Mr O’Hara was all to do with money and your belief you were not being given money which you thought you were entitled to.”
The judge then said Kwan chose iodomethane – used in pesticides – as it would be difficult for medics to detect, and added the GP showed “distorted thinking,” a “morbid obsession” with toxic chemicals, and a “capacity for most extreme behaviour in order to meet your own needs”.
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When he attended his mother’s home last year, the court was told Kwan also checked Ms Leung’s blood pressure when she asked.
While Kwan administered the injection, Mr O’Hara shouted in pain. The GP told him the reaction was not uncommon while speaking in broken English using an Asian accent, and left the home quickly.
A day after the fake COVID jab, Mr O’Hara’s arm had become blistered and seriously discoloured as he developed necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease.
Officers were able to track Kwan – still in disguise – back to a city centre hotel and then to his home in Ingleby Barwick, Teesside.
They then discovered an array of dangerous chemicals which the GP had amassed in his garage.
Paul Greaney KC, defending, said on Wednesday that the GP was previously of positive good character and had “ruined his life”.
He described Kwan’s disguise, when he passed himself off as a nurse, as “amateurish” and “clumsy”.
UK
Parents of boy whose outbursts left them fearing for their lives say Adolescence ‘touched a nerve’
A teenager suddenly becomes violent, his anger towards women fuelled by online influencers, while his parents struggle to process what their son is capable of.
Does this sound familiar?
It’s the story of the hit drama Adolescence – but for Jess and Rob, it’s their life.
Their 14-year-old son Harry’s violence has escalated so rapidly he’s had to be taken into care. We’ve changed all their names to protect their identities.
Until the age of 12, Harry’s parents say he was a “wonderful” son. But they saw a change in his personality, which they believe was sparked by an incident when he was hit by a girl. Soon, he developed an online interest in masculine power and control.
Harry’s personality changed after he was assaulted (this image shows an actor in a Sky News reconstruction)
“Harry became obsessed with being strong, and I think he developed a difficulty around certain female people because of the assault,” Jess says.
“He had to be in charge… in every setting,” Rob adds.
Then one night, he punched his mother, Jess. His parents called the police in the hope it would shock him out of doing it again. But, as time went on, the violence escalated.
“We probably must have called the police over 100 times,” Rob says.
One attack was so serious, Jess ended up in hospital. The violence spilled outside the home too as Harry assaulted neighbours and friends.
Then he threatened to stab a teacher.
“Every time we think it can’t get any worse, something else happens and it does get worse,” Rob says. “Unfortunately, him getting hold of a knife is quite likely to happen.”
They say Adolescence, which stars Stephen Graham, Ashley Walters and Owen Cooper, touched a nerve.
Jess and Rob say they called the police 100 times (this image shows actors in a Sky News reconstruction)
“My worst fear is that he’s going to end up killing one of us,” says Jess. “If not us, then somebody else…”
It’s a shocking thought for any parent to have. As well as contacting police, the family have tried many times to get help from social services and the NHS for Harry’s deteriorating mental health.
“We’ve been told that we’re using too many resources and accessing too many services,” Rob says. “We tried for 18 months to get him more intensive therapeutic help. At every turn it was ‘no, no, no’.”
Read more:
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They have found help with an organisation called PEGS that supports parents who are victims of their own children’s violence.
PEGS founder Michelle John says many families struggle to have their concerns taken seriously
Last year it was contacted by over 3,500 families, a 70% increase on 2023. Founder Michelle John says many families struggle to have their concerns taken seriously.
“What we’re hearing time and time again is that referrals are not being picked up because thresholds aren’t being met and perhaps the parent or caregiver isn’t a risk to the child,” she says. “Families are falling through gaps.”
In some parts of the country, local organisations are attempting to fill those gaps. Bright Star Boxing Academy in Shropshire has children referred by schools, social workers and even the police.
Joe Lockley, who runs the academy, says the problem is services that deal with youth violence are “inundated”.
“The biggest cause of the violent behaviour is mental health,” he says. “They lack that sense of belonging and control, and it’s quite easy to gain that from the wrong crowd and getting involved in violence.
“Social media is having a huge impact, especially around that young person’s identity.”
Ethan at the Bright Star Boxing Academy
Ethan, 18, agrees. He joined the academy aged 14. By then he had already been arrested several times for getting into fights.
He believes bullying sparked anxiety and depression. “Someone could look at me, I’d be angry,” he says.
“Social media – that’s definitely a massive part. You’ve got so many people that are living this material life. They’ve got loads of money.
“My main thing was seeing people with amazing bodies – I felt I couldn’t reach that point and it made me self-conscious, which would add on to the anger which then turned to hatred towards other people.”
Ethan says boxing has helped him turn his life around
Without the support of the boxing academy, he believes, he wouldn’t have been able to turn his life around.
“I would either be in prison or I would have done something a lot worse to myself,” he says.
“It’s just this massive mess in your head where you’ve got a million thoughts at once – you don’t know what to think or how to even speak sometimes,” he adds.
“All we need is someone that’s got the time for us… and the understanding that it’s a war in our heads.”
A government spokesperson told Sky News: “We have seen too many preventable tragedies caused by the failings of mental health services, and it’s unacceptable that young people have not been getting the care and treatment they need to keep them, their families and the wider public safe.
“We are working to ensure children and their families get that help. We are investing over £50m to fund specialist support in schools, launching a Young Futures hub in every community, and providing access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK
A plastic surgeon has been found guilty of the attempted murder of a fellow doctor who he stabbed after a failed attempt to set his house on fire.
Peter Brooks had cycled to the home of Graeme Perks in Halam, near Southwell, Nottinghamshire, while wearing camouflage gear and armed with a crowbar, petrol, matches and a knife in the early hours of 14 January 2021.
The 61-year-old then doused the ground floor of the property with petrol before stabbing fellow plastic surgeon Mr Perks because he wanted him “out of the way”, his trial at Loughborough Courthouse heard.
The victim’s wife and children were sleeping at the time of the attack, the jury was told.
Mr Perks, a consultant plastic surgeon, had provided evidence in disciplinary proceedings against Brooks, who faced potentially losing his job with Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, the jury was told.
Brooks was “voluntarily absent” from his month-long trial because he was on hunger strike and said he would “rather be dead than incarcerated”, it can now be reported.
He also sacked his lawyers before the trial and was unrepresented in the case.
Graeme Perks is fighting for his life in hospital. Pic: BAPRAS
When opening the prosecution’s case, Tracy Ayling KC had told the jury it was “clear that the defendant hated Graeme Perks” and wanted him “out of the way”.
Mr Perks, who was 65 at the time, had retired the month before the attack and suffered “extremely life-threatening” injuries to his liver, intestines and pancreas, and was given a 95% chance of death, the court was told.
He had woken up on the night of the attack when Brooks smashed through his conservatory, the jury heard.
The camouflage suit worn by Peter Brooks during the attack. Pic Nottinghamshire Police
Mr Perks then went downstairs where his feet “felt a bit damp” from the petrol, which Brooks had also thrown against the wall next to the stairs, before he felt a “blow to his body”, the court was told.
Brooks was later found asleep on a garden bench later that morning when he was taken to hospital for injuries to his hand, and was arrested.
His blood was found on a door at the scene of the attack.
Brooks has been convicted of two counts of attempted murder, attempted arson with intent to endanger life, and possession of a knife in a public place.
Jurors deliberated for more than 12 hours before finding Brooks guilty of all the charges against him.
Graeme Perks leaves court in Loughborough after giving evidence.
Pic: PA
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