A grandfather has been left “a shell of an individual” after being injected with poison by a murderous GP determined to remove him as “an impediment to his inheritance.”
Patrick O’Hara, 72, told a court how his life has been ruined by the actions of his then partner’s son, Dr Thomas Kwan, 53, who disguised himself as an NHS nurse to deliver what a fake Covid jab that he hoped would prove lethal to the pensioner.
Kwan is facing a potential life term after admitting attempting to murder Mr O’Hara in a twisted plot he hatched over the course of two years to ensure there would be no delay in receiving funds from the sale of his mother’s house on her death.
Mr O’Hara, a retired environmental analyst, delivered an emotional statement to Newcastle Crown Court on the devastating effects of being injected with iodomethane by
the already wealthy father-of-one, Kwan.
He narrowly escaped with his life after emergency surgery but has been left with horrific scarring
when the jab caused the flesh-eating condition necrotising fasciitis, which ate away sections of his arm.
And he was subsequently struck by debilitating PTSD which caused him to have hallucinations of Kwan’s face, terrifying flashbacks to the injection and his hair to fall out.
As the sentencing process for Kwan began at Newcastle Crown Court today, Mr O’Hara faced the man who tried to kill him across the court as he read out his victim personal statement.
He told how his life changed completely on January 22 this year when Kwan arrived at his house disguised as an NHS nurse to deliver a booster jab.
He said: “As a result of these incidents, I have been left a shell of an individual.
“I suffer from extreme fatigue and every time I get changed I am aware of the disfigurement to my arm which is an everlasting memory of the attack on me and this in addition has shattered my self-confidence.”
He went on: “I genuinely feel as if I have been to hell and back. Thomas will never comprehend or know what it’s like to suffer in the manner of which I am.”
Kwan initially denied attempted murder when his trial began on October 3rd, but he changed his plea to guilty after the prosecution opened its case.
Peter Makepeace, KC, prosecuting, argued that he should be given a life sentence when Mrs Justice Lambert passes sentence later this year.
The court heard previously how Kwan carefully planned his attack, gaining Mr O’Hara’s trust by mocking up NHS letters and created a fake ID card in which he was depicted in dark face
makeup, a wig and beard.
Neither Mr O’Hara nor his partner, Kwan’s mother Jenny Leung, recognised him as he delivered the near-fatal injection at the home they shared in central Newcastle.
The 21 year relationship with Ms Leung ended as a result of the attack and Mr O’Hara now lives with his daughter.
Mr Makepeace, KC, revealed that Kwan, who watched the couple via spyware he put on a computer, also planned to send his target food and drink laced with toxins, but never executed the plan.
Kwan sent a letter to Mr O’Hara from a fictitious organisation he called the North East Sportsman’s Club telling him that due to his work in the community he had been selected for a consignment of free food and alcoholic drinks.
Kwan also created fake companies with no genuine purpose to have chemicals shipped into the UK, which he would take delivery of at the Happy House GP surgery in Sunderland, where he was a partner.
Mr Makepeace told the court Kwan was a man of considerable means who had put in an offer on a house in the south of England for £2m.
However he added: “This was not a man motivated by greed for the sake of necessity. This was greed for the sake of greed.”
Paul Greaney, KC, mitigating said: “His crime was grave and has had the most serious consequences.”
But he argued that Kwan stood to gain little from his attempt to murder Mr
O’Hara, meaning his motive was not purely about financial gain.
He said he would have inherited 45% of the sale value of the house, which would only have been delayed and not prevented entirely by Mr O’Hara’s presence in the will.
Mr Greaney added: “The balance of her estate was very considerable, it is a very substantial figure.
“That reality supports the proposition that he did not have in full focus the financial gain but was more influenced by his feelings towards his mother and the way she had treated him.”
Mr Greaney concluded: “He has no previous convictions and as a local GP he has been of positive good character.”
The case adjourned until later this month or December When Mrs Justice Lambert will deliver her sentence, with a 30 year starting point before deciding aggravating and mitigating factors to determine the exact length he must serve behind bars.