Twisted GP is jailed for trying to kill mum’s lover with poison jab after donning disguise to pose as Covid nurse
A TWISTED GP who tried to kill his mum’s lover with a poison jab after posing as a Covid nurse has been jailed.
Dr Thomas Kwan, 53, wore a bizarre fake beard and hairpiece as part of an “audacious” plan to murder Patrick O’Hara.
The GP wanted to inherit mum Jenny Leung’s estate but the pair had fallen out over her plans to leave her home to Patrick instead.
Patrick, 71, was lucky to survive after the toxin caused a “rare and life-threatening flesh-eating disease”.
Kwan denied attempted murder initially but dramatically changed his plea on the second day of his trial.
The “dangerous” offender was today been jailed for 31 years and five months.
Kwan had previously admitted injecting Patrick with a poison but claimed he meant to inflict “no more than mild pain and discomfort”.
Newcastle Crown Court heard the “stranger than fiction” case unfolded on January 22 this year.
Kwan had been collecting dangerous chemicals including liquid mercury, sulphuric acid and arsenic in the build-up to the horror.
The GP had also prepared letters with a “chilling authenticity” from a made-up NHS department called the Community Associated Nursing team.
His stepdad fell for the letter “hook, line and sinker”, the court was told.
On the day he put his chilling plan into action, Kwan left his home in Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, in his Toyota Yaris fitted with false plates.
CCTV then showed him checking into a Premier Inn in Newcastle under a false name.
A few hours later, Kwan left the hotel in disguise – complete with long coat, surgical gloves and a face mask.
The court was told he travelled to Patrick’s home and claimed he was from the NHS in a “broken English accent”.
He then told the pensioner he was going to give him a Covid booster injection.
The grisly plan was so successful even Kwan’s mum was “oblivious” to the fact the so-called nurse was her son.
While administering the injection, Patrick yelped out in pain and shouted “bloody hell”.
Prosecutor Peter Makepeace KC said: “From that point forward, the nurse began to noticeably speed up his departure, packing up his equipment and leaving the premises in something of a rush.
“As he left the home, Ms. Leung came downstairs again and commented that the nurse had been the same height as her son.
“Upon that comment, and for the first time, Mr O’Hara began to suspect something was very wrong. He went out into the street to see if he could catch the nurse up and get some reassurance.
“He was too late out into the street and could find no trace of the nurse. He returned home to find the pain in his arm increasing.”
Doctors discovered he was suffering from necrotising fasciitis – a “rare, life-threatening flesh-eating disease”.
Patrick needed multiple surgeries to remove “very considerable portions” of his arm.
Kwan was arrested two weeks later and cops uncovered the full extent of his murder plot.
Officers also found castor oil beans in his garage and a recipe for manufacturing ricin from the beans.
A MoD chemical weapons expert was brought in but was unable to establish exactly which poison was used to inject the victim.
Hong Kong-born Kwan had developed an “encyclopaedic knowledge” of poisons and had studied how to get away with murder.
The court was told Patrick had “done absolutely nothing to offend Mr Kwan in any way whatsoever”.
But Mr Makepeace added: “He was, however, a potential impediment to Mr Kwan inheriting his mother’s estate upon her death.”
'It felt like I was on fire' - victim speaks out
Patrick O’Hara revealed he is no longer in a relationship with Kwan’s mother, Jenny Leung, and has moved out of their home.
The court was told he has developed severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the attempt on his life.
He said: “At roughly 0945 hours on Monday 22nd January 2024 my life completely changed for ever.
“This is a date that I will never forget for as long as I shall live.
“On this date, a male attended my home address, under the guise of a healthcare professional administering a Covid injection, and injected me with a devastating toxic chemical, whilst all the time having me believe that the injection was needed for my health and welfare.
“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.”
He was told he must be having an allergic reaction and said he believed and trusted the nurse.
“At no point in time was I ever under the impression that this person portraying to be a healthcare professional was in fact my partner at the time’s son, Thomas,” he said.
“In the days that followed, as a direct result of being injected by Thomas, I had to attend my GP as my left arm was suffering in a way that was causing me huge concerns.
“It felt like it was on fire.”
Mr O’Hara said he underwent a series of treatments and was admitted to the high dependency unit at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle.
He moved to the plastic surgery department after a week and, having been diagnosed with the flesh-eating disease necrotising fasciitis, spent five weeks in the hospital.
During that time he underwent three operations to cut away damaged flesh and needed skin grafts from his thigh.
After he was eventually discharged he undertook a course of physiotherapy to build up his left arm.
He said: “Overall, this incident should have been the end of me. The nature of what had occurred to my body has left me speechless.
“Had it have not been for medical intervention I am positive that, not only would I have lost my left arm, but my life as well.
“In stark contrast, I am amazed at how resilient the human body is.
“I managed to recover quite well from the surgeries and even managed to get back to playing some rounds of golf.”
However, having begun to make a good recovery, Mr O’Hara fell ill again in August, rapidly losing a stone and a half in weight, having almost all of his hair fall out, and suffering from hallucinations.
He was diagnosed with PTSD, for which he will require ongoing treatment, and described himself as “a shell of an individual” who is faced with his disfigurement every time he gets changed.
He fears Kwan being released and coming after him again.
“I am petrified that he will cause harm to my loved ones as a result of me assisting the police in his prosecution,” he said.
“I genuinely struggle to talk about this situation, and this has impacted the close relationships that I have with my family.
“I remember when I was lying on the bed whilst in the RVI, police visited me and informed me that they had arrested Thomas for the attack on myself.
“I couldn’t believe it. Some part of me didn’t want to believe it, and then to be informed that he had been charged with the offence of attempted murder made my thoughts spiral out of control.
“I have always thought what would I say to him, should the opportunity arise?
“I genuinely feel as if I have been to hell and back.”
Mum Jenny had named her partner of 20 years in her will to the effect that he could stay in her home should she die before him.
This led to a strained relationship between “money obsessed” Kwan and his mother.
The GP even installed spyware on Jenny’s laptop to monitor her finances.
Christopher Atkinson, head of the Complex Casework Unit for CPS North East, said Kwan’s attempt on Mr O’Hara’s life had “catastrophic” effects.
He added: “At a time when Kwan could have assisted medical staff by identifying this substance, he instead made no comment to the questions put to him in police interview, allowing the victim’s health to further deteriorate.”