Jipson Quah recanted aspects of six police statements he gave, even calling some parts of his own words “flowery fiction”. - Photo: ST
SINGAPORE: Prosecutors in the fake Covid-19 jab trial crossed swords with suspended doctor Jipson Quah over police statements he gave, in which he had singled out co-accused Iris Koh as the mastermind of the scheme.
On the last day of the ancillary hearing on Friday (March 14), Quah recanted aspects of six police statements he gave while in police custody, even calling some parts of his own words “flowery fiction”.
The 36-year-old maintained that he had to name Koh as the mastermind so that he could be released on bail.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Kelvin Chong described as baseless Quah’s assertions that the six statements he gave to the investigation officer were made under threat, inducement or promise.
DPP Chong said Quah had many opportunities after he was released on bail to highlight issues.
The prosecutor noted that police continued recording statements from him while he was out on bail, but Quah made no mention of anything untoward.
The ancillary hearing – or a trial within a trial – is to determine the admissibility of statements Quah gave to investigation officer (IO) Ng Shiunn Jye from the Central Police Division.
The statements were recorded between Jan 22 and Jan 29, 2022.
Quah is on a trial with his former clinic assistant Thomas Chua, 43 and Koh, the 49-year-old founder of Healing the Divide, an anti-vaccine group.
The three are alleged to have conspired to falsely inform the Health Promotion Board that patients had been given Covid-19 vaccination when they had not.
Over the course of the ancillary hearing, Quah repeatedly claimed that the investigator told him that he would not be released on bail unless he provided the names of 15 patients mentioned in his statements to the Ministry of Health.
Quah also spoke of a “secret meeting” he had with Superintendent Tan Pit Seng, the head of investigation at Central Police Division, while he was in custody.
He said that at the meeting, Supt Tan suggested that Quah could show remorse and his willingness to cooperate by naming Koh as the mastermind of the scheme.
DPP Chong said the accused had opportunities after his release to highlight the issues.
Quah replied that he did not say anything then as he wanted to remain on bail.
He added that he understood that the meeting with Supt Tan was supposed to be secret and that he had to complete the story, which he said was to paint Koh as the “complete mastermind”.
DPP Chong noted that the allegations against the officers did not come up at the onset of the main trial, which started on Dec 16, and surfaced only at the start of the ancillary hearing.
He put it to Quah that his allegations against IO Ng and Supt Tan were afterthoughts and baseless. Quah disagreed.
He told the court that he had doubts that he would be released on bail, which impacted the statements he gave while in custody.
He added that the statements would have been different had he not been in custody at the time.
During cross-examination by Koh’s lawyer, Wee Pan Lee, Quah said that everything he told investigators that implicated Koh was not true.
This included a police statement he provided while in custody, where he said that the people who came to him for the saline solution jab, instead of a genuine Covid-19 vaccination, were largely from the Healing the Divide community.
The accused was then directed by Wee to another statement that he had provided while in custody, where he said Koh had used him a tool or as an accomplice.
Quah told the court that he was scared and angry at the time, and added that as a result, he threw Koh “under a tank”.
Asked why he was retracting his statements now, Quah said several people had been implicated due to his accusations.
He said he felt duty-bound to state the truth and take responsibility for his actions, even if it increases his own culpability.
Quah agreed with Wee that he had incriminated others, but said that at that time, he only wanted to be released on bail. He said that he had no choice but to be selfish.
The case is adjourned to April 29 for closing submissions to be submitted by both sides, after which District Judge Paul Quan is expected to deliver his decision on the admissibility of Quah’s statements. - The Straits Times/ANN
