SINGAPORE: Wanting to enjoy the benefits of being vaccinated without actually receiving the COVID-19 jabs, a man paid S$6,000 to a doctor linked to anti-vaccination group Healing the Divide group.
In exchange, he and his unsuspecting wife received two injections that were recorded in Singapore’s National Immunisation Registry as Sinopharm COVID-19 jabs, but in reality, they contained just saline.
Australian national David Christopher Newton, 44, was sentenced to 16 weeks’ jail on Thursday (Apr 27).
He pleaded guilty to one charge of being party to a criminal conspiracy with Dr Jipson Quah and Quah’s assistant Thomas Chua Cheng Soon to cheat the Health Promotion Board (HPB) that he was fully vaccinated against COVID-19, when he was not.
A second charge involving his wife was taken into consideration.
The court heard that Newton joined the Healing the Divide group on Telegram around December 2021 and obtained Chua’s contact number from there.
Chua worked as a logistics supervisor for Quah, a 34-year-old Singaporean registered medical practitioner who owned several clinics.
THE CONSPIRACY
Newton told Chua that he had a job offer in Australia, but that he would face significant difficulty entering the country as he was unvaccinated. He asked if he could get certified as vaccinated without actually taking the jab.
He also wanted his wife to be certified as being medically ineligible to receive any COVID-19 vaccine.
Chua said he would consult Quah, and later arranged for Newton and his wife to get fake vaccines at Mayfair Medical Clinic in Yishun for S$6,000.
Newton agreed, and the pair received saline injections, although his wife was under the impression she had gotten the Sinopharm vaccine.
The injections were given over two days to comply with requirements – Dec 29, 2021 and Jan 15, 2022.
Newton paid Chua S$6,000 in three parts – in advance, and after each set of injections. According to the prosecutor, Chua and Quah split the payment between themselves.
Quah documented in his clinic’s medical records system that Newton and his wife had received the Sinopharm vaccine and the records were sent to the National Immunisation Registry.
The Ministry of Health later alerted the police to Quah’s alleged role in enabling patients to be falsely certified as having been vaccinated with the Sinopharm vaccine.
Police investigations revealed that Newton was one of at least 17 such patients who instead received saline injections from Quah.
The prosecutor sought 16 to 18 weeks’ jail for Newton, while defence lawyer Paul Loy sought a fine instead. In the alternative, he asked for four to eight weeks’ jail.
Mr Loy said his client was swiftly arrested, even before his TraceTogether records had been updated. He said Newton’s wife had a “condition” and his client was looking for an exemption.
JUDGE TAKES ISSUE WITH ARGUMENTS
District Judge Soh Tze Bian took issue with many of the arguments put forth by the defence. He told Newton’s lawyer that there are clear rules for exemption that everyone has to comply with instead of going to “do things on your own”.
“These rules apply to all, whether you are citizens or foreigners working here,” he said.
Mr Loy said Newton’s motivations should be contrasted with the motivations of his co-conspirators.
“You mean the doctors?” interjected the judge. “They have made their money. Assuming S$6,000, by 17. The doctor has been suspended, right?”
Mr Loy said his client was not a criminal and just had “a serious lapse in judgment”. He added that Newton would not reoffend.
Judge Soh said there was no way to be sure about this. “What if there’s mandatory vaccination for all again? We don’t know. In Rome, you do as Romans do,” he said.
The lawyer persisted and asked if it was fair to “throw the book” at a single patient, adding that there were at least 17 involved, but only his client had been charged.
The prosecutor jumped in to clarify that while Newton is the only patient who has been charged at the moment, the prosecution has yet to rule out charging others.
“The prosecutor talks about public disquiet,” said Mr Loy. “Public disquiet doesn’t arise because of press reports. Public disquiet is when people are talking about how things have happened and how the authorities were cheated.
“I daresay public disquiet might arise more if it transpires that everyone else is let off and this one individual is not.”
Deputy Public Prosecutor Etsuko Lim said Newton was not the same as the other patients, as he was the only one who applied to leave the country, bringing some urgency to this case.