Key Takeaways:
– British doctor, Dr. Thomas Kwan, is sentenced to 31 years in prison for attempting to murder his mother’s boyfriend, Patrick O’Hara.
– Kwan disguised himself as a nurse to inject O’Hara with a life-threatening poison that causes a flesh-eating disease.
– The doctor leveraged pandemic protocol, crafting a plot that involved a fake COVID-19 booster, complete with bogus NHS letters.
– The motive behind the act was a financial one, as Kwan believed O’Hara stood in the way of his inheritance.
– O’Hara is now recovering after undergoing intensive care treatment and surgery.
In a highly unusual and shockingly audacious case, a UK doctor has been sentenced to 31 years in prison for attempting to murder his mother’s boyfriend. The man at the heart of the case, Dr. Thomas Kwan, went to great lengths to disguise his sinister intentions, presenting his poison as a COVID-19 vaccine, and himself as a nurse making house visits.
Unmasking the Deceit
Dr. Kwan, 53, had a masterly crafted modus operandi that involved posing as a nurse. The intent was to inject his mother’s boyfriend, 72-year-old Patrick O’Hara, with the deadly substance iodomethane—commonly found in pesticides. The poison led to the onset of necrotizing fasciitis, a life-threatening flesh-eating disease, requiring O’Hara to spend several weeks in intensive care.
Kwan was caught following a wide-ranging investigation by Northumbria Police. The attention to detail in his plot was alarming, with police revealing that Kwan sent out fraudulent National Health Service (NHS) letters, offering O’Hara a home visit for a COVID-19 booster. The letters contained fake NHS logos, hyperlinks, and even a QR code, bringing to the fore the length and breadth of his criminal design.
The Charade Continued
In carrying out his plan, Kwan presented himself wearing full protective gear, including tinted glasses and a surgical mask. Adding further to the elaborate ruse, he used a vehicle with fake license plates and assumed an Asian accent. The doctor even spent about 45 minutes at a hospital carrying out blood checks and health surveys under his disguised identity before injecting the lethal substance.
Motive Behind the Crime
Disturbingly, the motive behind Dr. Kwan’s act was financial. The doctor believed O’Hara was the obstruction to him inheriting his mother’s home, causing him to devise this audacious plan. Kwan was reportedly unhappy about his smaller share in his inheritance upon his father’s death and was frustrated with O’Hara’s relationship with his mother.
The authorities also uncovered that the doctor had installed spyware on his mother’s computer years earlier to track her finances. Furthermore, during the search of his home, the police found arsenic, liquid mercury, and castor beans—ingredients for making the chemical weapon ricin—and even instructions for making it on his computer.
The Verdict and Aftermath
In passing the verdict, Justice Christina Lambert highlighted Kwan’s obsession with money. She noted his bitterness towards his mother and O’Hara, mostly tied to financial matters and his belief that he was not being given the money he thought he deserved. The sentence of 31 years imposed on Kwan reassures that justice has been served in this grave case.
O’Hara, who survived after having part of his arm cut away to prevent the disease from spreading, told the court he had become a “shell” of himself. Luckily, he is now on a recovery path. The doctor’s mother, Jenny Leung, has since terminated her relationship with Kwan.
This case serves as a shocking reminder of the lengths to which people can go in pursuit of what they deem their due, even if it calls for jeopardizing another person’s life. The elaborate, calculated ploy by Dr. Kwan was indeed shocking and repulsive, but it also remained a stark illustration of how financial greed can lead individuals down a perilous path. Now, as Kwan faces the repercussions of his actions, it is hoped that such incidents will serve as strong deterrents for others harbouring similar intentions.