GP jailed for 31 years after planning 'audacious Covid jab murder plot'
WATCH: A mother is locked in a legal battle with the NHS to stop them from sedating her down syndrome son to give him the vaccine
GB NEWS
A Sunderland GP who planned an "audacious" murder plot to kill his mother's partner by administering a fake Covid jab has been jailed for 31 years and five months.
Dr Thomas Kwan, 53, was previously found guilty in October for attempting to murder Patrick O'Hara, 72, at his mother's Newcastle home.
Motivated by financial gain, Kwan plotted an elaborate scheme to inject his unsuspecting victim with a poison under the guise of a Covid vaccine, administering the flesh-eating toxin while disguised as a nurse.
At the defendant's sentencing, the judge said: “It was an audacious plan to murder a man in plain sight and you very nearly succeeded in your objective.”
A GP from Sunderland was accused of attempting to murder his mother's partner by injecting him with a poisoned fake Covid booster jab
PAHe had been previously warned that he could face up to 35 years behind bars after he pleaded guilty to administering a noxious substance. However, he denied charges of attempted murder and grievous bodily harm with intent.
Police searches of the GP's home revealed a picture of the guilty party wearing a wig, fake beard and a moustache, as well as a fake ID for 'Raj Patel' on his computer.
Officers found a varied range of dangerous chemicals, alongside instructions on how to make the poison ricin, although a poisons expert has said that iodomethane - which is often used in pesticides - was more likely to have been used.
Additionally, the criminal is said to have used spyware to record emails and internet history on his mother's computer, as well as capture images via its camera.
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The GP's crimes were driven by his greed when he found out that his mother left her home to O'Hara in her will, the court heard.
At a previous hearing, prosecutor Peter Makepeace KC said: “The motive for this attempt to kill was to remove an impediment to his inheritance.”
On January 22, the day of the attempted murder, Kwan checked into a Newcastle Premier Inn, donning a hat, tinted glasses, gloves, and a face mask.
Later, he walked to his mother's house to inject her partner with poison and quickly left the scene.
The grandfather was diagnosed with a flesh-eating disease and had to undergo three surgeries in addition to a course of physiotherapyPA In his victim statement, O'Hara recounted the traumatising event, explaining how he had to undergo three major plastic surgeries after he was diagnosed with the flesh-eating disease necrotising fasciitis, causing him to spend several weeks in the intensive care unit.
As the retired environmental analyst was used to regular home check-ups by the NHS, he did not spot anything amiss while Kwan sent him fake letters to appear as though the NHS was offering him a home visit in January.
Now, as he continues to recover from the life-changing event, he has been diagnosed with PTSD, referring to himself as a “shell of an individual”, suffering from hair loss, weight loss and hallucinations after the attack.
Speaking in court, the victim said: “I genuinely feel as if I have been to hell and back.”
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