Patrick O’Hara disclosed how his partner’s son attempted to murder him by injecting pesticide, driven by a warped ambition to claim his inheritance, viewing Patrick as an obstacle.
Telling the harrowing tale, he said from shoulder to elbow, jagged scars cover the skin—a grim reminder of multiple surgeries and skin grafts to repair tissue and muscle that had been viciously eaten away.
The injuries, however, were not caused by a shark attack but by a sinister plot orchestrated by his former partner’s son.
In an act of betrayal that shocked many, Thomas Kwan, a 54-year-old GP with a thriving practice and a young family, was sentenced to 31 years in prison for attempting to murder 72-year-old Patrick.
Speaking exclusively about the ordeal, Patrick recounts a saga that prosecutor Peter Makepeace KC described as “stranger than fiction.” Reflecting on his survival, Patrick says, “He might not have succeeded in killing me, but he took me to Hell and back. I can’t put into words how bad the pain was.”
The crime was as audacious as it was meticulously planned. In November of the previous year, Patrick received what appeared to be a legitimate NHS letter, offering a medical check-up and a Covid booster shot at his Newcastle home.
The letter, however, was forged by Kwan, targeting Patrick alone.
A second letter confirmed a January 22 appointment, followed by a fake NHS text message. When the knock on the door came that morning, Patrick opened it to a “community nurse” disguised in a woolly hat, tinted glasses, and a face mask. It was Kwan, unrecognizable even to his own mother, Jenny. Patrick reflects with dry humour, “My friends and I have had a laugh about his disguise. He looks like Inspector Clouseau, doesn’t he?”
After a brief health check and two blood samples, Kwan administered the supposed Covid booster. Instantly, Patrick felt a searing pain.
“It was like my arm was on fire,” he recalls. Kwan quickly dismissed the reaction and left. Within hours, Patrick’s arm developed pus-filled blisters.
A visit to his GP and a sleepless night followed. By the next day, the pain had intensified, prompting a nurse to suspect sepsis and send him to the hospital.
At the Royal Victoria Infirmary, doctors initially struggled to identify the cause. Patrick remembers, “No one knew what it was at first. I remember being rushed for an X-ray, then waking up in intensive care. It was like having an out-of-body experience.” Eventually, they discovered he had been poisoned with iodomethane, a pesticide potent enough to kill. The substance caused necrotising fasciitis, a flesh-eating disease. “Basically, the cure was removing it, nothing else,” Patrick explained.
He underwent four operations in a single week, followed by skin grafts. During his recovery, his daughter Rachael learned doctors feared they might have to amputate his arm.
“She chose not to tell me until later,” Patrick says. The pain was so severe that removing bandages required sedation.
Police involvement began after a consultant, suspecting a bogus nurse targeting pensioners, contacted them.
When asked if he had enemies, Patrick jokingly mentioned his golf club rivals.
However, suspicion soon fell on Kwan, the only person with the medical knowledge to carry out such a plot.
Despite strained relations with his mother, Kwan’s actions shocked Patrick. “He was the first name that came to mind,” he admits.
Jenny had described her son as “arrogant, angry, and vengeful,” but Patrick had paid little attention. He never imagined Kwan’s obsession with money would lead to such lengths.
The flat they shared, which Kwan could only sell after Patrick’s death, was central to the motive. Ironically, Patrick and Jenny’s relationship was nearing its end.
In early 2023, a heated altercation between Kwan and his mother culminated in Patrick calling the police. Though released with a caution, the incident likely fueled Kwan’s scheme.
Police later discovered chemicals, including iodomethane, at Kwan’s home, alongside internet searches on poisoning methods.
Following his release from intensive care, Patrick’s recovery was grueling. He experienced debilitating PTSD, lost two stone in three weeks, and suffered terrifying hallucinations.
“At one point, I was hallucinating that I was driving my bed round the streets of Gateshead,” he recalls.
Patrick’s relationship with Jenny ended soon after, but he harbours no resentment. “Whatever he’s done, he is still her son,” he says. Remarkably, his ex-wife Theresa, who heard about his ordeal, took him in. The couple rekindled their relationship and plan to remarry. “She’s been absolutely wonderful,” Patrick shares.
Though Kwan eventually pleaded guilty to attempted murder, Patrick remains cautious.
“I do worry that when he comes out, he will still try to target my family.” Yet, he refuses to let bitterness consume him. “I felt terrible against him at first. But as time goes by, you know, I’ve learned to let it go. He did it, he’s got the justice that he deserved, and I’m lucky I lived to tell the tale.”
