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An Australian man paid a Singaporean doctor S$6,000 for saline jabs so that he and his wife could be certified as "fully vaccinated" without taking the "real vaccine".

David Christopher Newton, 44, was arrested on Jan. 21, 2022, when the Ministry of Health discovered that Jipson Quah, a GP with ties to the "Healing the Divide" anti-vaccination group, had done the same thing to at least 17 patients.

On Apr.  27, he pleaded guilty to conspiring with Quah and his assistant Chua Cheng Soon Thomas, to cheat the Health Promotion Board (HPB) that he was fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

After agreeing to have another charge involving his wife to be taken into consideration, he was sentenced to 16 weeks in jail.

He wanted to go back to Australia but didn't want to be vaccinated

According to court documents, Newton obtained Chua's contact from a Telegram group chat of the anti-vaccination group "Healing the Divide" around December 2021.

Chua handled the logistical affairs for Quah's Mayfair Medical Clinic, which has branches in Woodlands and Yishun.

Newton asked Chua to come to his house on Dec. 26, 2021, to discuss Covid-19 vaccination.

Has a job offer back in Australia

He told Chua he had a job offer in Australia but would face "significant difficulty" entering the country if he was unvaccinated.

Newton then asked if he could be certified vaccinated without getting "the real vaccine".

He also asked if his wife could be certified as being medically ineligible to receive any Covid-19 vaccine, even though he knew his wife wouldn't be eligible for exemption.

S$6,000 for two pax

Over the next two days, Chua and Quah discussed Newton's request, and Quah asked Chua to arrange for the fake vaccines to be administered at his Woodlands clinic.

Chua told Newton about the arrangement and unilaterally quoted S$6000 for the vaccines.

Newton agreed and handed over a S$2,000 deposit to Chua.

Lied to wife that she will be getting Sinopharm vaccine

On Dec. 29, Chua drove Newton and Newton's wife and daughter to the Woodlands clinic.

While in the car, Newton lied to his wife that she would be receiving a Sinopharm vaccine.

At the clinic, Quah also said he would administer Sinopharm vaccines to them, while Newton knew it was a lie.

After Quah injected saline into Newton and his wife, Chua drove them home and collected another S$2,000 from Newton.

Doctor made fake vaccination records

Quah recorded that Newton and his wife each received their first dose of the Sinopharm. His staff sent the vaccination records to the National Immunisation Registry (NIR) maintained by HPB.

Newton asked Chua to arrange for the second saline injection to be administered on Jan. 15, 2022, as he had read on the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore’s website that the two doses of the Sinopharm vaccine ought to be taken at least 17 days apart.

Chua drove Newton and his wife to and fro, this time to Quah's Yishun clinic for the saline injections. Newton paid the remaining S$2,000 during the trip back home, and his wife still thought she was administered the Sinopharm vaccine.

"Took advantage of privileges of being vaccinated without being vaccinated"

District Judge Soh Tze Bian stated that the prosecution sought a jail term of 16 to 18 weeks in his grounds of decision.

Newton's lawyers asked for a fine and, in the alternative, a sentence not exceeding eight weeks imprisonment if the judge found a fine inappropriate.

The prosecution submitted that it is of "public interest" that Newton is put into jail instead of a fine for deterrence.

They argued that Newton "selfishly took advantage of the attendant privileges of being vaccinated without in fact being vaccinated" and, during the "raging pandemic", had "no qualms about circumventing Singapore's measures to contain the public health emergency".

Offences difficult to detect

The prosecution pointed out that his offences were premeditated and difficult to detect. It was "nearly impossible" for HPB to verify the vaccination records were genuine, especially given the "sheer number of records" NIR receives daily.

They said the difficulty of detecting the crimes was exacerbated when Newton took deliberate steps to conceal his offending. For example, he ensured that the timing of his injections mirrored the "real" vaccination schedules.

The prosecution also highlighted that Newton's offences had caused public disquiet and that his wife never consented to having saline injected into her.

No merit in defence's plea for mitigation

Soh agreed with the prosecution's submissions and pointed out that there was "no merit" in the defence's arguments.

Claim he's "concerned" for wife's health

The defence argued that Newton had "extenuating reasons for offending" as he offended "primarily out of concern" for his wife's health.

"The narrative crafted is a sympathetic but ultimately incomplete one as the accused person himself did not suffer from any health condition," Soh noted. "There is no excuse for the accused person receiving a fake COVID-19 vaccine. He simply and selfishly did not wish to be vaccinated."

On his claims of concern about his wife's health, Soh pointed out that all Singaporean residents were subjected to the same vaccine exemption criteria, and those that claim to have health conditions yet are not eligible for exemption would have to decide whether to remain unvaccinated.

"This was a trade-off that every other similarly situated individual had to make," Soh said it was not up to Newton to "take matters into his own hands".

Judge says HPB suffered reputational harm

Newton's lawyers also pointed out that he had "caused no real loss" to HPB, and his offences were only "temporal" as he was planning to leave Singapore just a few months after.

Soh disagreed. He explained that while HPB did not incur any financial loss, it did suffer "intangible loss" in the form of "reputational harm".

Soh pointed out that Newton's "benefits" from his offending were equally relevant, as he could access places in Singapore and enter Australia he would not be able to for being unvaccinated.

On the claims that his offences were only "temporal", Soh pointed out that to leave Singapore was exactly what Newton tried to achieve with the fraud.

Claims "hardship" for losing job offer with bank in Australia

The defence further argued that Newton's act "did not harm others" . On the other hand, Newton claimed he had suffered "hardship" from losing a job opportunity with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and it would be difficult for him to seek employment.

Soh dismissed the arguments and pointed out that it is "purely fortuitous" that harm was averted because of timely intervention by the authorities, mitigating the risk of him infecting others with Covid-19.

Contracted Covid-19

Newton had a negative serology test result in September 2021 but a positive serology test result in March 2022. Soh pointed out that this meant he had likely contracted Covid-19 at some point during the six months and possibly after he had his second saline injection in January 2022.

As for the hardship Newton brought upon himself and his family, Soh said it is settled in the courts that familial hardship is of "scant mitigating value", save in “some very exceptional or extreme” circumstances.

"The accused person had no misgivings about participating in the criminal conspiracy, despite knowing full well the consequences that would befall his family if he was caught and punished," Soh added. "He who lives on borrowed time cannot complain when the clock runs out."

'Harsh deterrent sentence must be imposed'

Judge Soh emphasised that the accused's conspiracy with Quah and Chua had been carried out when the number of Covid-19 cases in Singapore was growing exponentially.

As such, he explained a harsh deterrent sentence was necessary, as the accused's actions " jeopardised the public good".

The judge also believed that the sentence of 16 weeks' imprisonment would not be crushing for the accused.

Top image via National Cancer Institute on Unsplash.