Alex Mullen of QEB Hollis Whiteman appeared on behalf of the General Medical Council at a three-day hearing considering the case of poison-obsessed Dr Thomas Kwan, who was erased from the medical register.
Kwan, conscious that his mother’s new partner stood in the way of his inheritance, used his medical skills and expertise to gain access to his victim’s address and poison him with a fumigant pesticide, telling him it was a covid-19 booster vaccination.
The former doctor had sent false NHS letters to his victim, having considered other ways in which he could be poisoned before settling on his callous plan. The letters preceded the doctor’s attendance at the victim’s address, wearing a disguise, at which time he injected the victim with the poison in the presence of the victim’s partner – Kwan’s own mother.
In spite of the doctor’s intention, the victim survived and Kwan was identified as the culprit. He was later convicted, by his plea, of attempted murder. He was sentenced in criminal proceedings to 31 years and 5 months’ custody.
The Medical Practitioner’s Tribunal, hearing the matter over three days, agreed with Alex’s submissions that the doctor displayed a dangerous and destructive attitude towards his offending, and that professional standards would be ‘destroyed’ if regulatory action was not taken.
The Tribunal further agreed with Alex’s submissions that the only proportionate sanction was one of erasure from the register.
The case is the subject of significant media interest, including an ITN documentary which aired again this week.
The case has been featured in National Press:
Alex Mullen