He was another healer who recommended “slapping therapy” to treat a range of diseases sentenced Friday to 10 years in prison for the death of a 71-year-old diabetic woman who stopped taking insulin at one of his workshops.
Hongchi Xiao, 61, was convicted of grossly negligent homicide for failing to get Danielle Carr-Gomm medical help as she cried out in pain and gasped on the fourth day of shopping work in October 2016.
Xiao, from Cloudbreak, California, promoted paya lajin therapy, having patients slap themselves repeatedly to release “toxic waste” from the body. The technique has roots in Chinese medicine but critics say it has no scientific basis and often leaves patients bruised, bleeding – or worse.
Carr-Gomm was one of two of Xiao's patients who died.
He was extradited from Australia, where he was convicted of manslaughter after the death of a 6-year-old boy when his parents withdrew his insulin medication after attending one of his workshops in Sydney.
“I consider you dangerous even if you do not share the characteristics of most other dangerous criminals,” said Judge Robert Bright during sentencing at Winchester Crown Court.
“You knew from the late afternoon of the first day that Danielle Carr-Gomm had stopped taking her insulin,” said the judge. “Furthermore, you made it clear to her that you supported this. “
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Bright said Xiao only made a “marked effort” to get Carr-Gomm to take her insulin once it was too late and had shown no sign of remorse as he continued to encourage paya lajin in prison.
Carr-Gomm was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1999 and was desperate to find a cure that didn't involve injecting herself with needles, said her son, Matthew.
“She always maintained a healthy lifestyle and was determined that nothing would stop her from living life to the fullest,” said Matthew. according to the BBC.
She sought alternative treatments and had previously attended a workshop with Xiao in Bulgaria a few months before her death in which she also became very ill after stopping her medication.
However, she recorded a video testimonial, calling Xiao a “messenger sent by God” who was “starting a revolution to put the power back in the hands of the people to heal themselves and change the entire health care system. “
Wiltshire Police
The court heard that Xiao said “Well done” to Carr-Gomm after she told the participants that she had stopped taking her insulin at the week-long retreat, the The BBC reported.
By the third day, Carr-Gomm was “vomiting, tired and weak, and by the evening she was crying in pain and unable to answer questions,” said prosecutor Duncan Atkinson.
A cook who wanted to call an ambulance said she delayed those with full recovery experience.
“Those who received and accepted the defendant's teachings misinterpreted Mrs Carr-Gomm's condition as a healing crisis,” Atkinson said.
The BBC reported that while sentencing Xiao on Friday, Bright said: “You congratulated her (Danielle) when you found out she had stopped taking insulin. You didn't call for emergency medical care when you all knew she was likely to die without insulin. I believe you will continue to use it.
