Man found guilty of manslaughter after death at his ‘slapping therapy’ workshop

A man has been found guilty of manslaughter after a death at his ‘slapping therapy’ workshop.

Hongchi Xiao from California, US, has today been convicted of the manslaughter by gross negligence of Danielle Carr-Gomm, who died at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire in October 2016.

The alternative healer failed to get help for the 71-year-old diabetic women who stopped taking insulin during his Paida Lajin therapy event.

She was taking part in the event which sees patients being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly when she was left 'howling in pain'.

Hongchi Xiao has already been prosecuted over the death of a 6-year-old. (Crown Prosecution Service Handout)

The woman from East Sussex had first joined one of the Paida Lajin workshops (meaning 'slap and stretch'), ran by Xiao in Bulgaria in July 2016.

The court heard how Carr-Gomm had sought alternatives to her insulin medication for type 1 diabetes because of her vegetarianism and fear of needles.

She became seriously ill after stopping it before restarting and subsequently recovering.

When she attended the Wiltshire workshop, Xiao said 'well done' to her after telling the group she had stopped taking her insulin at the week-long retreat, and she became seriously ill, the court heard.

Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson KC 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 the woman was 'delirious' and 'frothing at the mouth' before she died, adding that she wanted to call an ambulance but trusted those with more experience of the holistic healing method.

Atkinson added how Xiao failed to get medical help for Carr-Gomm before she died in the early hours of the fourth day.

Danielle Carr-Gomm died at the workshop. (Wiltshire Police)

He said: “Those who had received and accepted the defendant’s teachings misinterpreted Mrs Carr-Gomm’s condition as a healing crisis.”

The prosecutor described how Xiao had been an 'exponent' of Paida Lajin for 10 years and had written a book on it.

“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 said.

“He does not have medical qualifications or training."

Giving evidence, Xiao said: “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.”

Following the verdict, head of the Crown Prosecution Service, Rosemary Ainslie said: “Hongchi Xiao knew the consequences of Danielle Carr-Gomm’s decision to stop taking insulin could be fatal, he had seen it before.

“Hongchi Xiao was the man in charge, yet he failed to respond to Mrs Carr-Gomm’s worsening condition with tragic consequences.

“His failure to take reasonable steps to help Mrs Carr-Gomm substantially contributed to her death and amounted to gross negligence."

For this trial, Xiao was extradited from Australia, where he had previously been prosecuted over the death of a six-year-old boy, who also died after his parents withdrew his insulin medication after attending one of his workshops in Sydney.

He will be sentenced on 1 October.