Slapping therapist jailed after woman's death

An alternative healer has been jailed for 10 years for the manslaughter of a 71-year-old diabetic woman who stopped taking insulin at his slapping 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 in July at Winchester Crown Court of manslaughter by gross negligence after he failed to get medical help for Ms Carr-Gomm at the event in Wiltshire.

He was also sentenced to a further five years on extended licence after his time in prison.

The judge told Xiao he was "concerned history may repeat itself"

The 61-year-old was extradited for the trial from Australia, where he had previously been prosecuted after a six-year-old boy also died when his parents withdrew his insulin medication after attending the defendant's workshop in Sydney.

Mr Justice Bright added Xiao will be liable to be deported to America after serving his sentence.

Ms Carr-Gomm died at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire, in October 2016 while taking part in the Paida Lajin therapy event.

Ms Carr-Gomm, from Lewes in East Sussex, had Type 1 diabetes, meaning she had to take insulin every day to keep her blood glucose levels under control.

Yet she had a lifelong fear of needles and had frequently sought other ways to deal with the disease.

Paida Lajin, which means "slapping and stretching" is a therapy in which people slap themselves and others in order to expel toxins from the body.

Ms Carr-Gomm believed it worked and delivered glowing testimonials, the court previously heard.

The court heard that Xiao said "well done" to Ms Carr-Gomm, after she told the participants that she had stopped taking her insulin at the week-long retreat.

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", prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC said.

Ms Carr-Gomm, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 1999, was "howling in pain" and "frothing at the mouth" as she became seriously ill before she died on the fourth day of the workshop.

Xiao was extradited for the trial from Australia, where he had previously been prosecuted after a six-year-old boy also died in 2015 after his parents stopped giving him insulin.

Ms Carr-Gomm's fear of needles is what drove her to finding alternative remedies

Sentencing Xiao on Friday, Mr Bright said: "You congratulated her [Danielle] when you found out she had stopped taking insulin.

"You failed to summon emergency medical care when you of all people knew she was likely to die without insulin.

"I believe you will continue to practice it. There is a risk you will actively or tacitly encourage followers to reduce their medication.

"Letters from your supporters and the undiminished belief they and you have in Paida Lajin make me apprehensive.

"I'm concerned history may repeat itself and this presents a risk to the public. In this specific regard I consider you dangerous."

After her death, her son Matthew Carr-Gomm said his mum was "desperate to try and cure herself of the 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.

Det Ch Insp Phil Walker, of Wiltshire Police, said Xiao's not-guilty plea has only shown the little remorse he has.

"Danielle was a mother and a grandmother who enjoyed life and had a love of travelling – her death came as a huge shock to her family and friends and our thoughts are very much with them at this time," he said.