Doctor died after taking poison from Malaysia
Inquest told Border Force officers were powerless to prevent delivery
ADOCTOR took his own life by ingesting a poison he ordered online from Malaysia – that Border Force officers were reportedly powerless to prevent being sent on to him.
Rochdale coroners court heard that Oldhamborn Dr Jonathan Shaw, who lived in Didsbury and was 55, was found dead at an address in Oldham on December 2, 2023.
A coroner ruled after an inquest that Dr Shaw took his own life ‘against a background of a mixed anxiety and depressive disorder’ through ‘the intentional ingestion of a poisonous substance which he had procured through an online purchase from a supplier in Malaysia’.
The package was intercepted at Stansted after ‘intelligence about the Malaysian company and information about concerns for Dr Shaw’s welfare and the risk to life’ was received, a new report reveals.
Officers from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) were said to have made contact with him and told him the parcel had been stopped. But, the report reveals, the officers ‘would most likely not have been aware that UK Border Force could only lawfully keep hold of the package for 30 days’.
It’s because the substance is ‘not a prohibited poison under the Poisons Act 1972’ and the report said there was no evidence to suggest the officers were told by Border Force of the legal timescales, said the coroner in the report. It was subsequently released to Dr Shaw, who ‘concealed’ it from his family before taking the poison.
The coroner said: “UK Border Force released the package nine days after its arrival in the UK and without examining its contents or consulting with GMP.
“The lack of consultation with GMP represented a significant missed opportunity as the evidence was that Dr Shaw would most likely have agreed to the safe destruction of the package if he had been asked at a point before he took physical possession of it.
“In the event, Dr Shaw concealed the package and informed his family, the police and mental health professionals that he had disposed of it.
“He subsequently used the contents of the package to end his life.”
Details of the tragic case have been revealed in a now-published ‘prevention of future deaths’ report issued by Manchester North coroner Catherine Mckenna.
The report has been sent to the Home Office on behalf of the Border Force and the National Police Chiefs Council.
The Home Secretary, James Cleverly, is set to respond in person, the Rochdale Observer has been told.
The Coroners and Justice Act 2009 provides coroners with the duty to make reports to a person, organisation, local authority or Government department or agency where they believe action should be taken to prevent future deaths.
An inquest into Dr Shaw’s death concluded at Rochdale Coroners Court on April 24. Ms Mckenna recorded a conclusion of suicide. The Observer is not identifying the substance concerned.
Ms Mckenna said in her report it was a ‘matter of concern’ the Border Force did not have legal powers to seize the consignment ‘because it is not a prohibited poison under the Poisons Act 1972’.
She said there was a risk of future deaths unless ‘action is taken’ and added in the report: “If there is an ongoing police investigation or police interest in a particular consignment, the UK Border Force can use section 19 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 to stop and hold.
“However the holding power is limited to 30 days, after which the consignment must be released. There is no national guidance or training provided to police forces or the UK Border Force on joint working around the management of consignments of [the substance] from overseas which have been ordered by individuals inside the UK for the purpose of ending their own life.
“There is no legal requirement to alert the local police force before a consignment is released or to request a welfare check during which the recipient could be invited to agree to the safe destruction of the parcel by the police or UK Border Force.”
The report has also been sent to GMP and the National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group for their knowledge, said Ms Mckenna.
The record of Dr Shaw’s inquest states Border Force ‘were aware of the risk associated with the package’.
“There is no evidence of the package being examined by UKBF before it was released to the deceased,” it adds.
“Greater Manchester Police had not been notified of the time limit by which UKBF could hold the package. This meant that there was a missed opportunity to destroy the contents of the package before the deceased took possession of them.
“The evidence indicates that the deceased would have agreed to its destruction had he been asked.”
In response, the Home Office said Border Force did not have the legal powers to seize the substance.
A spokesperson said: “We are saddened by the death of Dr Shaw and our thoughts are with his friends and family at this difficult time. We are considering the findings of the coroner’s report and the Home Secretary will respond in due course.”