he had sent Mr O ’ Hara a forged letter

purporting to be from “ Mr Raj Patel

from the community nursing team ”.

Both Raj Patel and the community

nursing team were made up names .

The letter informed Mr O ’ Hara

that he was due to receive a com-

Paul Smith Australian Doctor Editor in Chief

munity health visit for health monitoring and the administration of a

COVID-19 booster .

The forgery , according to the judge , was of “ some sophistication ”, featuring an NHS logo , hyperlinks and various privacy notices used by health organisations .

“ You were masquerading as a

A follow-up letter in January con-

community nurse attending to per-

tained the date and time of the visit

form a routine health check upon

plus a QR code and link to a short

Patrick O ’ Hara .

health questionnaire for Mr O ’ Hara to

“ Your intention in visiting the

complete before the appointment .

home in this way was to adminis-

Dr Kwan then scoped out a base

ter a lethal injection of poison to Mr

for his operation , booking an over-

O ’ Hara on the pretence of adminis-

night stay at the Premier Inn in New-

tering a COVID-19 booster .”

castle in England ’ s north , close to

The judge added : “ It was an

where his mother and Mr O ’ Hara

audacious plan to murder a man in

were living .

plain sight .”

The judge said Dr Kwan “ obvi-

These were the words of Justice

ously found the hotel suitable ”

Christina Lambert as she handed

because he booked another room

down a 31-year prison sentence to

three days later — this time , under a

Dr Thomas Kwan , the UK GP who ,

false name and address .

earlier this year , attempted to kill

The day before his murder attempt

his mother ’ s lover .

he drove the 80km from his home to

His motive was greed : his

the hotel with false plates on his car .

Happy House Surgery , telling the

intended victim , Mr O ’ Hara , was set

The judge continued the story :

practice manager that it was a holding

to inherit his mother ’ s estate in the

“ The next day , after breakfast , you

company for properties .

event of her death . The plot , as will become clear , mixed farce and genuine malevo-

left your hotel room in your disguise . “ You wore a long coat and cap , blue surgical gloves and a clinical

Poisons

The judge said his home contained

lence in the style of a fictional thriller .

mask covering your face .

“ a library of material describing

Money

Dr Kwan ’ s relationship with his

“ You were let into the house by Mr O ’ Hara .

“ He did not recognise you , but

and giving instructions on the use of the various chemicals in killing human beings ”.

mother had been strained since she

after all , he had no reason to suspect

There was a document entitled

divorced his father 27 years earlier .

that you were not the nurse from the

“ Aspects of Chemical and Biological

At the time he had accused her of

local community health team who

Warfare ”; a textbook called Poisons ,

withdrawing £ 1 million ($ 1.9 million )

had written to him on two occasions

their Effect and Detection ; and a book

from his parent ’ s joint account before filing for the split .

When his father died , it was his younger brother who received the

and texted him the day before . “ You disguised your voice by speaking in broken English with an Asian accent .

Dr Thomas Kwan seen on CCTV on the day of the incident . Photo : AAP .

that detailed the amount of each poison required to kill a person , the clinical effects and the time taken for the chemical to take effect .

largest proportion of the will . This

“ You went through a medi-

There was also a recipe for the pro-

for Dr Kwan was unjust , believ-

cal questionnaire about his general

However , Dr Kwan was tracked

an “ obsessive interest in poisons

duction of sodium cyanide .

ing as the eldest child the money

health . You took his blood pressure .

down quickly .

and toxic chemical harm ”, with

Which poison Dr Kwan adminis-

should have gone to him as was usual in the Chinese culture in which he had been born .

“ Your mother came downstairs , and she too was duped .

“ At her request , you took her

CCTV clue

Despite the thought that had gone

liquid mercury , thallium , sulfuric acid and arsenic .

In the garage were the ingredi-

tered remained somewhat of a mystery during the investigation .

Doctors were baffled when Mr

In a letter to his mother , two years

blood pressure . You then admin-

into his plan , some of it was clearly

ents and materials needed to produce

O ’ Hara was first admitted to hos-

before he hatched his plot to kill her partner , Dr Kwan had written to his mother : “ You say that I am selfish or greedy , but I would like you to make me the sole executor of your will , as well as giving me the most and larg-

istered the injection of poison to Mr O ’ Hara , telling him that it was a COVID booster .

“ When he complained of a severe stinging pain , you explained to him that he had had an allergic reaction ,

‘ You then administered the injection of poison to Mr O ’ Hara , telling him that it was a COVID booster .’

pital with inflammation in his arm . Cell samples and blood tests revealed nothing .

The most likely explanation given to the court however was that the toxin was iodomethane : a

est proportion of the properties and

but Mr O ’ Hara sensed that you were

not thought through at all .

ricin , a chemical weapon .

substance predominantly used as a

inheritance as … you have told me

speeding up your exit from the house .

CCTV on St Thomas ’ Street , where

Dr Kwan ’ s smartphone revealed

fumigant pesticide .

many times that I am the one you

“ As you left , your mother came

his mother was living , captured foot-

that he had made internet searches

“ I am sure that this was the poison

love the most out of all children .”

down the stairs and commented

age of him as he fled .

about ricin .

which you injected because a glass

She did not comply with her

in passing that you were the same

He was then traced back to the

It turned out that he had obtained

tube containing the poison was found

son ’ s request .

height as her son .

hotel and , from there , to his home

the poisons by setting up a shell com-

in your home along with a hypoder-

Murder plot

The judge said she was unsure on

“ It was only at this point that Mr O ’ Hara suspected that all was not quite right .

address . He was arrested but offered few responses .

pany a year earlier , where he had claimed to be a research officer within its research unit .

mic syringe and needle ,” Justice Lambert said in her sentencing remarks .

“ Additionally , your phone showed

when Dr Kwan began planning the

“ He hurried out of the house after

Police searched his home and

He registered the company to the

that you had carried out internet

murder , but in November last year

you , but by this time , you had gone .”

found what the judge described as

practice where he worked , called the

searches for iodomethane on 97