A GP who arranged a fake Covid vaccine appointment so that he could poison his mother’s partner has admitted to attempted murder.
Dr Thomas Kwan was charged by police in February following a report of ‘suspected poisoning’ in Newcastle.
He went on trial at Newcastle Crown Court last week, but yesterday he pleaded guilty to attempted murder.
Dr Kwan sent counterfeit NHS letters to his mother’s then-partner, claiming he was due to have an injection and arranged to visit the man at his home on 22 January.
According to Northumbria Police, he wore a disguise to carry out the visit ‘including a wig and fake facial hair’ and a face mask.
In the hours after receiving the injection, the man became ‘seriously unwell’, with a ‘serious skin condition developing around the injection area’ and he was later admitted to hospital after initially visiting his GP.
On presenting the letters for the appointment at which he was given the injection, hospital staff realised they were fake and informed Northumbria Police.
The man has since had to have ‘numerous operations’, including skin grafts to repair the damage the poisoning caused to his body, and has been left with ‘life-changing injuries’ following the incident, the force said.
Dr Kwan was arrested at his home address in the Ingleby Barwick area of Stockton and police found a ‘poisoner’s handbook’ and ‘a book on guidance for murder investigations’ on his computer.
A spokesperson for Northumbria police said: ‘Several files regarding poisons to kill a person and ideal poisons to use to evade detection were also uncovered on his computer.
‘Further enquiries found that Kwan had installed spying software on his mother’s computer as a way of monitoring her and her partner’s computer usage for a period of over a year.’
Detective chief inspector Jason Henry, the officer in charge of the case, said: ‘Thomas Kwan’s actions were utterly despicable.
‘He used his experience as a doctor to deceive the victim into thinking the medical appointment he had arranged was genuine before administering the poison which has caused him unimaginable pain and suffering.
‘The weight of evidence faced by Kwan was overwhelming and he has now admitted attempted murder.
‘While nothing can change the impact of Kwan’s actions on his victim, we do hope the fact he has been brought to justice will help them move on with their life.’
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said the toxin used is ‘as-yet unconfirmed’, but that it ‘caused a flesh-eating disease’.
Head of the Complex Casework Unit for CPS North East Christopher Atkinson said: ‘Thomas Kwan went to highly unusual lengths in his attempts to kill his mother’s partner while avoiding detection.
‘Over several months, he obsessively planned a way of gaining access to his victim, which involved the use of counterfeit documents, a shell company and elaborate disguises to obscure the potentially lethal role he was to play in these events.
‘While the attempt on his victim’s life was thankfully unsuccessful, the effects were still catastrophic.
‘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.
‘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.’
As part of the police investigation, Dr Kwan was identified as having driven from his home to a hotel in Newcastle city centre in the early hours of January 22 before the appointment, and officers found out that Kwan had used fake licence plates on his vehicle during the journey to Tyneside.
He was charged with attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent in February and initially pleaded not guilty to these offences, but admitted a charge of administering a noxious substance.
He was remanded in custody and is expected to be sentenced on 17 October. According to the GMC medical register, his medical licence status is ‘suspended’.
A spokesperson for Happy House practice, where Dr Kwan was previously a GP partner, told Pulse: ‘Dr Kwan left the practice following his arrest. Once Dr Kwan was arrested, 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.’
Photo credit: Northumbria Police
