Fake Covid-19 vaccinations: Patients paid up to $6k for saline shots, court hears

GP allegedly recorded that they received Sinopharm vaccine after giving them shots

- Christine Tan

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.