Ann alternative healer who popularized ‘slap therapy’ adopted by millions of people around the world, was jailed for the grossly negligent homicide of a British woman who died in one of his workshops in Wiltshire.
Hongchi Xiao was sentenced to 15 years after a jury found him guilty of the manslaughter of Daniel Carr-Gohm, 71. who had type 1 diabetes and became fatally ill after she stopped taking her insulin and starved herself during one of his பாட்டு லாஜை therapy is withdrawn.
Prosecutors say Hsiao, referred to as “master” by his followers, had a duty of care to Kar-Gom and failed to take reasonable steps to encourage her to take insulin and call for medical help when she obviously necessary.
When she fell seriously ill at the farmhouse workshop in 2016, crying in pain and losing weight, Xiao blamed her decline on a “medical crisis”.
Prosecutors said Xiao should have been aware of the danger Kar-Gom was in because the year before her death, A six-year-old boy with type 1 diabetes died at a workshop he ran in Australia after Xiao told his mother to stop giving him insulin. Xiao was convicted of grossly negligent homicide for the boy’s death.
During his trial at Winchester Crown Court, Xiao described how had learned பாட்டு லாஜை from kung fu masters and hermits in the mountains of China and had spread the forgotten method to millions of people around the world.
Xiao, who was born in China, said he left a lucrative career in finance to focus on பாட்டு லாஜை and he wasn’t in it to make money. He said the technique, which involves slapping and stretching, is easy to learn, helps treat every disease known to man and reduces the need for patients to take “Western” medicine with “poisonous” side effects.
After Kar-Gom’s death, Xiao is arrested. He was then taken to Australia, convicted of manslaughter for the 2015 death of the six-year-old boy. and thrown into prison. The judge in Australia concluded that Xiao had told the boy’s mother to stop injecting him. He was subsequently returned to the UK to stand trial over Kar-Gohm’s death.
Describing Xiao as “the inventor of பாட்டு லாஜை”, the judge, Mr Justice Bright, said he was not convinced he had acted purely out of altruism but believed he “actively” enjoyed being the founder of a global movement.
Bright said Xiao still believes in the பாட்டு லாஜை and continued to practice and promote it. He said Xiao also continued to believe that Western medicine was toxic and ideally avoided.
The judge said he was “certain” that Xiao would continue to practice in prison and after his release, and could actively or tacitly encourage his followers to reduce their medication.
Bright said Xiao’s “undiminished faith” made him certain that “history could repeat itself,” leading to the conclusion that he was dangerous.
Charles Row KC, defending, said Xiao still believed in பாட்டு லாஜை but he recognized weaknesses in the way he had practiced it.
Rowe referred to a letter written by Xiao to the court after his conviction. The lawyer said: “This is a letter of real humility. He admits his mistakes, explains how during the trial he was forced to face those mistakes.
“He admits that he was preoccupied with this idea of a healing crisis, overlooked the dangerous symptoms of the disease, and overemphasized the side effects of [conventional] medicines.”
Xiao concluded in the letter, “My contemplation is deeper than before, and thus the false idea covered by my ego was exposed.”
Rowe said that if he is released, he will not conduct seminars in the same way and his writings will be monitored by a medical practitioner.
He added that Xiao, a father of two daughters, has spent seven years and seven months in prison so far.
Rowe said Xiao was perceived by friends and colleagues as good-natured, a follower of Confucius, with a thoughtful approach to life. He had no desire to be a celebrity or a savior, but he genuinely wanted to help people. He was not motivated by money and profits from his books and seminars were put back into his work.
There were “thousands” of testimonies from people who had said பாட்டு லாஜை helped them, but Rowe said Xiao’s ego, his belief in the healing crisis, “got in the way of what he saw in front of him.” However, Roe accepted that Kar-Gom suffered for 30 hours before she died.
Describing Xiao as a “complete fraud”, Kar-Gom’s family said: “While we cannot bring our mother back, we hope this case at least highlights the dangers of pursuing unregulated alternative therapies without proper research.”
The 15-year sentence includes 10 years imprisonment and an extended license period of five years. The time will be taken for periods when he was awaiting extradition from Australia and pre-trial detention.
