Patients allegedly paid GP up to $6k for saline shots in fake Covid-19 vaccination case

Patients of a general practitioner (GP) at the centre of an alleged criminal conspiracy involving fake Covid-19 vaccinations had paid up to $6,000 for saline shots, the court heard at the start of a 15-day trial.

After giving them the shots, Jipson Quah, who has been suspended from practice since March 2022, allegedly recorded these patients as having received the Sinopharm vaccine.

The patients wanted their vaccination records updated to avoid restrictions imposed on unvaccinated individuals during the pandemic.

Quah, 36, was in court on Dec 16 to fight 17 charges that he had conspired between 2021 and 2022 to make false representations to the Health Promotion Board (HPB) about the vaccination statuses of 17 individuals.

In their opening statement, deputy public prosecutors Timotheus Koh, Yohanes Ng and Thaddeus Tan said they will admit 11 statements each from Quah and his then clinic assistant Thomas Chua Cheng Soon, 43, to prove their case.

DPP Koh told the court that Quah and Chua had allegedly admitted to their involvement in the offences in statements.

Quah is facing a joint trial with Chua and the founder of anti-vaccine group Healing the Divide, Iris Koh Hsiao Pei, 48.

Prosecutors will also summon 14 individuals named in the trio’s charges to testify as witnesses. They include patients who received the saline shot.

The three had allegedly conspired to falsely inform HPB that patients had been given the Sinopharm vaccine when they had not.

Koh and Chua are each contesting seven charges.

The first day of the trial saw Assistant Superintendent of Police Karl Elliott Lim Peng, who recorded Quah’s first two statements, take the stand.

He told the court that the GP said during interviews that a family of three had allegedly paid him between $1,000 and $6,000 for a saline shot.

Quah told the police he charged patients $70 for the Sinopharm vaccine, and the same price for a saline shot. In 2021, private healthcare firms charged between $90 and $99 for two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine.

ASP Lim said that when he asked Quah about the large sums he allegedly received for the saline shots, the GP said: “I interpreted it as a token of gratitude... For patients who offer to pay more, I will not reject them.”

Quah told the police his clinic assistant allegedly kept about 30 per cent of each payment for himself.

In the police interviews, the GP said he met Koh in July 2021 when she accompanied a female patient to a clinic that he ran.

The patient had complained of vaccine side effects, such as eye swelling and body aches.

After Quah performed a blood test to assess this claim, Koh asked him if he could conduct a blood test for other patients exhibiting similar side effects. They exchanged contact numbers.

ASP Lim said that as more restrictions were imposed on unvaccinated people, Koh asked Quah if he provided the Sinopharm vaccine.

In his statement to the police, the GP said Koh wanted to refer unvaccinated people to him to get vaccinated.

Some time later, a woman visited Quah’s clinic and identified herself as a referral from Koh. She said she wanted to be vaccinated but was fearful of the side effects, and pleaded with Quah to administer an alternative shot, said ASP Lim.

Over time, more patients claiming to be Koh’s referrals came to his clinics and spoke of their fear of vaccinations.

Quah was operating several clinics between Oct 16, 2021, and Jan 19, 2022, where Chua also worked.

The GP told ASP Lim that it was Koh who allegedly suggested he administer something in lieu of vaccines.

Quah said he then offered the patients a saline shot if they were agreeable, and recorded that they had been vaccinated.

He said he used saline because it was commonly found in clinics and was harmless to humans.

When asked why he gave the saline shots, Quah told the police: “I felt sorry and acceded to their requests because those who were unvaccinated faced significant social restrictions and I wanted to help them.”

He recalled that an elderly couple had begged him to administer the saline shot in lieu of a vaccine as they were concerned about possible side effects.

Quah told the police: “I did not mean to harm anybody or profit through saline injections, and I wanted to help those in need.”

The GP said Chua acted as a liaison between Koh, the patients and the clinics. Chua allegedly collected the money from patients, which he then gave to Quah.

None of his other staff knew of the arrangement.

Quah said in his statement that he did not impose a minimum sum for the “tokens of appreciation” that patients gave him.

After one patient paid him $6,000 for administering saline shots for him and his wife, the GP said he felt “not comfortable” receiving such an amount. This patient was not named in court.

He purportedly then told Chua to inform patients that he would accept a maximum of $1,500 in extra payment. Quah told the police that Koh did not receive any money out of the arrangement.

The GP is represented by Mr Adrian Wee of Lighthouse Law, while Koh is represented by Mr Wee Pan Lee of law firm Wee, Tay and Lim.

Chua does not have a lawyer.

Koh is facing seven other charges, which include allegations that she had instigated members in Healing the Divide Telegram group chats to harass doctors at vaccination centres.

The case will be heard at a later date.

If convicted of making false representations, Quah, Koh and Chua could be jailed for up to 20 years, fined, or both for each charge.

Source: Straits Times © SPH Media Limited. Permission required for reproduction.

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