Slapping therapist can appeal against manslaughter conviction
Hongchi Xiao, 63, was jailed after Danielle Carr-Gomm, who had diabetes, died when she stopped her insulin at his retreat in Wiltshire
Last updated 15 hours ago
An alternative healer jailed over the death of a 71-year-old diabetic woman who stopped taking her insulin at his slapping therapy workshop can appeal against his conviction, Court of Appeal judges have said.
Danielle Carr-Gomm died in October 2016 while taking part in the Paida Lajin therapy event in Wiltshire, which involved people being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly.
Hongchi Xiao, of Cloudbreak, California, was convicted in July 2024 of manslaughter by gross negligence and given 10 years in jail.
At the Court of Appeal on Friday, three judges allowed Xiao to appeal against his conviction, which will be heard at a later date.
Lord Justice Dingemans, sitting with Mr Justice Butcher and Judge Peter Blair KC, said: "We are going to grant leave to appeal, so it is important to say as little about the merits as is possible."
The 63-year-old therapist 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 Xiao's workshop in Sydney.
Winchester Crown Court heard that Mrs 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.
Jurors were told she 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".
She joined the Paida Lajin workshop, which means "slap and stretch", in October 2016, having attended another in Bulgaria a few months earlier where she also stopped her insulin medication and became seriously ill before recovering.
The court heard that Xiao said "well done" to Mrs Carr-Gomm after she told the participants in Wiltshire that she had stopped taking her insulin at the week-long retreat, and she again became seriously ill.
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.