Thomas Kwan: GP sentenced to 31 years for attempted murder with fake Covid jab over family inheritance feud

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A GP, sentenced to over 31 years for attempted murder, pursued a shocking scheme to kill his mother’s partner using a fake Covid jab amid a “strained and difficult” relationship with his mother.

The court heard how Thomas Kwan, a 53-year-old GP, harboured a deep resentment toward his mother, Jenny Leung, born out of grievances over his father’s inheritance. Having been educated at a British public school since the age of 13, Kwan reportedly became fixated on money matters, feeling unjustly treated when his younger brother inherited the largest portion of their father’s assets. This financial resentment fuelled a violent plan to gain access to his family’s wealth by eliminating his mother’s partner, who held a “life interest” in her home on St Thomas Street.

Disguised as a community nurse, Kwan, arranged a fake Covid booster appointment at his mother’s partner, Patrick O'Hara’s home in Newcastle, where he injected him with a pesticide, causing necrotising fasciitis. The attack left O'Hara, 71, severely debilitated.

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Mrs Justice Lambert said: “You have had a strained and difficult relationship with your mother for many years.” Kwan himself admitted that the tension grew after his parents’ divorce 27 years ago, a separation he attributed to his mother withdrawing £1 million from her and her husband’s joint account, pushing his father to file for divorce.

Dr Thomas Kwan, a GP, was sentenced for attempting to murder his mother’s partner, Patrick O’Hara, amid an inheritance dispute. Disguised as a community nurse, Kwan, 53, arranged a fake Covid booster appointment at O'Hara’s home in Newcastle, where he injected him with a pesticide, causing necrotising fasciitis. The attack left O'Hara, 71, severely debilitated. Kwan initially denied the charges but later changed his plea during his trial at Newcastle Crown Court, where prosecutors recommended a life sentence due to the calculated nature of the attack.Dr Thomas Kwan, a GP, was sentenced for attempting to murder his mother’s partner, Patrick O’Hara, amid an inheritance dispute. Disguised as a community nurse, Kwan, 53, arranged a fake Covid booster appointment at O'Hara’s home in Newcastle, where he injected him with a pesticide, causing necrotising fasciitis. The attack left O'Hara, 71, severely debilitated. Kwan initially denied the charges but later changed his plea during his trial at Newcastle Crown Court, where prosecutors recommended a life sentence due to the calculated nature of the attack.
Dr Thomas Kwan, a GP, was sentenced for attempting to murder his mother’s partner, Patrick O’Hara, amid an inheritance dispute. Disguised as a community nurse, Kwan, 53, arranged a fake Covid booster appointment at O'Hara’s home in Newcastle, where he injected him with a pesticide, causing necrotising fasciitis. The attack left O'Hara, 71, severely debilitated. Kwan initially denied the charges but later changed his plea during his trial at Newcastle Crown Court, where prosecutors recommended a life sentence due to the calculated nature of the attack. | Northumbria Police

Kwan told the court that he expected, as the eldest son, to inherit a larger share due to Chinese cultural norms. Instead, his younger brother received the lion’s share. In a letter from January 2022, Kwan accused his mother of “having stolen money from your father and family” and asserted that he had “never given up (his) rights to (his) inheritance.”

The court also heard that Kwan’s obsession with his mother’s finances went to disturbing lengths. He gifted his mother a laptop in 2020, secretly outfitted with spyware to monitor her financial transactions and private life. On one occasion, Kwan entered his mother and O’Hara’s home in central Newcastle, uninvited, pressing her about financial matters, which led her to contact the police. While officers issued him a warning, Ms Leung opted not to pursue further action, not wanting to jeopardise his son’s medical career.

Justice Lambert, while sentencing, said Kwan’s continued fixation on his mother’s assets even after his arrest, as seen in intercepted messages to his wife about their "hard-earned money and home." The judge said: “You described your mother as being ‘money obsessed’. Whether she was or not I do not know. You however were certainly obsessed by money and more particularly by the money to which you considered yourself to be entitled.”

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Concluding her remarks, Justice Lambert expressed her firm belief that Kwan’s attempted murder of O’Hara was financially motivated. “I have no doubt that the reason why you tried to kill Mr O’Hara was for financial gain,” she said. By killing him, you would have removed the obstacle which lay between you and your immediate recovery of your share in the property following your mother’s death in the event of her pre-deceasing him.”

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