Doctor convicted for disguising himself as a nurse and injecting his mother's lover with flesh-eating toxins
A doctor has been convicted for disguising himself as a nurse, and injecting his mother's partner with a flesh-eating toxin.
According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England, Thomas Kwan pleaded guilty to a charge of attempted murder in the Newcastle Crown Court in relation to an elaborate scheme that saw him inject the man.
The victim suffered life-threatening injuries. Tests are under way to determine what type of toxins were used.
CPS explained that in November last year, Kwan sent a forged a National Health Service-headed letter to the victim, informing him that he qualified for a nursing visit at the address he shared with Kwan's mother.
"This was followed up by another letter, stating that a vaccine appointment with a member of a home nursing team had been made for him. The home nursing team was itself a work of fiction, created by Kwan to facilitate his scheme," the CPS said.
The CPS said Kwan sent the victim a second letter stating that a vaccine appointment with a member of a home nursing team had been made for him. The home nursing team was itself a work of fiction, created by Kwan to facilitate his scheme.
Kwan then attended the bogus appointment in January dressed as a nurse in protective clothing and his face was obscured by a clinical mask. His eyes were hidden behind tinted glasses.
Kwan conducted a medical questionnaire with the man and took his blood pressure reading. Thereafter, Kwan injected his arm with an unknown substance.
"When the man complained of pain in his arm, Kwan provided reassurances before gathering his things and hurriedly leaving" the CPS said.
According to head of the Complex Casework Unit for CPS North East, Christopher Atkinson, 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," Atkinson said.
He added that 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.
"We would like to praise the work of our partners in Northumbria and Cleveland Police forces, who conducted an outstanding investigation into what has been one of the most elaborate criminal plots in recent memory. The key evidence they have provided has been instrumental in helping the Crown Prosecution Service build a robust case against Kwan.
"It is testament to both the strength of this case and the overwhelming evidence against him that Kwan has pleaded guilty to the charge of attempted murder. Our thoughts remain with his victim at what remains a difficult time, and we sincerely hope that the conviction of his attacker today can provide him with some measure of comfort," Atkinson said.
The CPS said Kwan had previously admitted a charge of administering a noxious substance but has now pleaded guilty to attempted murder, which will replace that charge.
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