Northumbria PoliceA doctor has admitted attempting to murder his mother’s partner with poison in a dispute over an inheritance.
Thomas Kwan, 53, had previously denied the offense against Patrick O’Hara, who was given a toxin which caused a “rare and life-threatening flesh-eating disease,” Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Prosecutors said Kwan went to “extraordinary” lengths to disguise himself and prepare the attack at the victim’s Newcastle home on 22 January.
Kwan, who lived in Ingleby Barwick, Teesside, and worked in Sunderland, is due to be sentenced at a later date with Judge Mrs Justice Lambert saying he can expect a “substantial” prison term.
Kwan had admitted administering a noxious substance to Mr O’Hara, 71, but initially claimed he only wanted to cause “pain and discomfort”, the trial had heard.
But after prosecutors opened the case on October 3, Kwan changed his plea to the more serious charge on Monday with jurors asked to formally return a guilty verdict.
In his opening speech, prosecutor Peter Makepeace KC said it had been an “audacious” plan that was “stranger than fiction”.
He said Kwan’s mother, Wai King also known as Jenny Leung, had made a will leaving her home in Newcastle to her partner of 20 years, Mr O’Hara with it only passing to her children in the event of his death.
CPSMr Makepeace said Kwan, who had been a well respected GP, was “obsessed” with money and his inheritance so hatched an “intricate” plan to eliminate the “impediment” posed by Mr O’Hara.
Kwan sent his victim letters purporting to be from the NHS saying he was eligible for a home visit from a community nurse for a medical check-up.
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