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A Chinese alternative healer has been jailed for 15 years after a diabetic grandmother d!ed at his slap therapy workshop.
Danielle Carr-Gomm died in October 2016 while taking part in the Paida Lajin therapy event, which sees patients being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly.
Hongchi Xiao, of Cloudbreak, California, was convicted by a jury at Winchester Crown Court of the manslaughter by gross negligence of Mrs Carr-Gomm, from Lewes, East Sussex, in July.
The 61-year-old was today sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus a five-year extended licence period at Winchester Crown Court.
The trial heard that Mrs Carr-Gomm, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 1999, had sought alternatives to her insulin medication because of her vegetarianism and fear of needles.
She had first joined a Paida Lajin workshop, which means ‘slap and stretch’, run by the defendant in Bulgaria in July 2016.
She then joined another course later that year, where she fell gravely ill and was heard ‘howling in pain’ before dying of diabetic ketoacidosis on the fourth day of the workshop at Cleeve House in Wiltshire.
Xiao ignored medical evidence that diabetics needs lifesaving insulin and ‘evangelised’ his slap therapy course as a ‘cure’ for diabetes.
In a broadcast sentencing of Xiao on Friday, Mr Justice Bright said: ‘I sentence you on the basis you knew from late in the afternoon of day one of the fact that Danielle Carr-Gomm had stopped taking her insulin.
‘Furthermore, you made it clear to her you supported this.’
The judge said Xiao made a ‘token effort’ to get her to take her insulin which was too little, too late, and showed ‘no real sign of clear remorse’ as he continues to practice and promote Paida Laijin in prison.
‘I consider you dangerous even though you do not share the characteristics of most other dangerous offenders,’ he added.
Jurors were told Mrs Carr-Gomm had sought alternatives to her insulin medication because of her vegetarianism and fear of needles.
The court heard that she had provided a testimonial for Xiao, describing him as a ‘messenger sent by God’ who was ‘starting a revolution to put the power back in the hands of the people to cure themselves and to change the whole system of health care’.
The trial previously heard Mrs. Carr-Gomm attended her first Paida Lajin retreat in Bulgaria in July, where she also stopped her insulin medication and became seriously ill before recovering.
She went on to attend another of Xiao’s workshops in Wiltshire in October of that year.
The jury heard how Xiao said ‘well done’ to Mrs Carr-Gomm, after she told the group she had stopped taking her insulin at the week-long retreat, and she became seriously ill.
Mr. Atkinson said that by the third day ‘she was vomiting, tired and weak, and by the evening she was howling in pain and unable to respond to questions’.
A chef at the workshop, Teresa Hayes, told jurors Mrs Carr-Gomm was ‘delirious’ and ‘frothing at the mouth’ before she d!ed, adding that she wanted to call an ambulance but trusted those with more experience of the holistic healing method.
Mr Atkinson described how the defendant failed to get medical help for Mrs Carr-Gomm before she d!ed in the early hours of the fourth day.
He said that Xiao had been an ‘exponent’ of Paida Lajin for 10 years and had written a book on it.
Mr Atkinson said: ‘It is said to be a method of self-healing in which ‘poisonous waste’ is expelled from the body through patting and slapping parts of the body.’
He added: ‘He does not have medical qualifications or training.’
The prosecutor said that Xiao also wrote in the book that ‘doctors are brainwashed by drug producers to act as salespersons for their drugs’.
Speaking after her death, her son Matthew Carr-Gomm, who lives in New Zealand, said: ‘She was always keen to try and find alternative methods of treating and dealing with her diabetes, and was very interested in alternative and holistic medicine and therapies. I know she was desperate to try and cure herself of this disease.
‘She always maintained a healthy lifestyle and was adamant that nothing would stop her from living a full life.
‘In recent years, mum was in a great place with a partner, a lovely home, and was travelling the world. She had a lot of life left in her.’
He said the de@th of Mrs Carr-Gomm had come as a ‘huge shock’ to the family.
Giving evidence during the trial, Xiao said he would ‘never’ persuade someone who needed insulin not to take it, adding that insulin is ‘useful’.
On his attitude towards medication at his workshops, he added: ‘First of all, I said I’m not a medical doctor, so everyone is responsible for their own medication. Secondly, I’m not fully against medicine, what I’m concerned about is the side effect of the medicine.’
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Walker, of the Major Crime Investigation Team at Wiltshire Police, said: ‘This has been an extremely complex investigation, with nearly eight years having passed since Danielle’s sad de@th.
‘This passage of time, which has been out of our control, has of course added further challenges and complications to the investigation, but I am pleased that a custodial sentence has now been given to Xiao.
‘He had no medical qualifications yet, despite this, was actively encouraging those in attendance at his workshops to refrain from taking their regular medication, knowing full well the consequences.
‘Xiao’s not-guilty plea has only shown the little remorse he has over Danielle’s de@th and has made an already extremely difficult and upsetting process for Danielle’s family even more prolonged and distressing.
‘Danielle was a mother and a grandmother who enjoyed life and had a love of travelling – her de@th came as a huge shock to her family and friends and our thoughts are very much with them at this time.’
Wiltshire Police’s Detective Constable Dave Topp said Mrs Carr-Gomm had ‘put her trust’ in the ‘extremely convincing’ Hongchi Xiao.
