A British woman with diabetes who died after stopping her insulin while on a four-day slapping therapy workshop saw the person who ran the retreat as a “messenger sent by God”, a UK jury was told last week.
The court heard that Danielle Carr-Gomm (71) had written glowing testimonials about Hongchi Xiao, saying she believed he was starting a revolution in healthcare.
Xiao allegedly congratulated Carr-Gomm when she said she’d stopped taking insulin at the start of the four-day workshop, but when she became seriously ill, he apparently told other participants she was experiencing the “darkness before dawn breaks” – and did not call for medical help.
Xiao (61) from California, denies the manslaughter by gross negligence charge, reports The Guardian.
Duncan Atkinson KC, prosecuting, told the jury Carr-Gomm had sought alternatives to her insulin because she was a vegetarian and had a fear of needles.
She was one of 30 people who attended the workshop in October 2016 run by “Master Xiao”, a champion of paida lajin therapy, in which patients are slapped or slap themselves repeatedly.
Atkinson said Carr-Gomm previously attended a workshop of Xiao’s in Bulgaria and, though she became unwell there, left testimonials on his website in which she said he was “definitely” a “messenger sent by God”.
The jury heard that workshop participants fasted and drank only Chinese tea. At classes, Xiao allegedly slapped them using his hand and a paddle.
Carr-Gomm is said to have stopped taking insulin on 17 October. Over the coming days she became unwell and was heard crying in pain.
Paramedics were called on 20 October, and found Carr-Gomm lying on a mattress on the floor. She was confirmed dead.
The court heard that Xiao had been convicted of manslaughter in Australia after a six-year-old boy with diabetes stopped taking insulin, allegedly under his instruction, and died about 17 months before Carr-Gomm’s death.
Charles Row KC, defending Xiao, told the jury the defendant denied having a duty of care and had made it “absolutely clear” to Carr-Gomm that he was not medically trained.
Xiao was also not a member of the UK’s Association of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the court heard.
The trial continues.
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