GP jailed for 31 years after poisoning mum's partner while disguised to be a nurse

A GP who tried to kill his mother's partner with poison in a fake Covid jab while posing as a nurse has been sentenced to 31 years in jail.

Thomas Kwan, 53, of Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, admitted attempting to Patrick O'Hara, 72, in Newcastle on January 22 over an inheritance row with his mother. He has now been sentenced to 31 years and five months in prison, and he will serve two-thirds of that in custody before he can apply for parole.

carried out in-depth forensic inquiries at an address in Ingleby Barwick, but the exact poison used in the fake jab has not yet been identified, and Kwan refused to give details when questioned.

Prosecutor Peter Makepeace KC submitted to trial judge Justice Christina Lambert that Kwan's crime warranted a life sentence as it was a high culpability offence.

Kwan, a partner in the Happy House surgery in Sunderland, in Newcastle after several months of planning.

Sentencing Dr Thomas Kwan 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."

Though the poisoning did not kill O'Hara, "the effects were still catastrophic", said Christopher Atkinson, head of the Complex Casework Unit for CPS North East.

He said last month: "The chemical injected caused increasingly severe damage, beginning with burns and blisters around the injection site and progressing into a potentially life-threatening flesh-eating disease."

Kwan's elaborate scheme involved the use of counterfeit documents, a shell company, and elaborate disguises as he attempted to avoid detection.

While he administered the poison , Kwan admitted in court last month that he'd developed alternative plans for if he did not go ahead with the fake nurse plot.

Police found a document from the "Northern England Men Sporting Association" addressed to "Patrick" and offering him free drinks and ready meals through the post in recognition of his contributions to the North East throughout his working life.

There was also a document he created, supposedly from the "Northern Wine and Drinks Tasting Gentlemen's Club" which the prosecution said hinted "at yet another method of delivery explored by Mr Kwan".

Kwan has been suspended by the Medical Practioners Tribunal Service since February. A spokesperson for Happy House practice said: "Dr Kwan left the practice following his arrest. , we carried out an audit of our practice records.

"We are satisfied that this was an unrelated, personal matter and at no point did Dr Kwan pose a threat to any of our patients at Happy House."