Slapping therapist can appeal manslaughter conviction

An alternative healer jailed for the manslaughter of a woman at one of his workshops can appeal against his conviction, judges have ruled.

Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, died in October 2016 while taking part in the Paida Lajin therapy event at Cleeve House in Wiltshire, which involved people being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly.

Hongchi Xiao, 63, of Cloudbreak, California, was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2024 for manslaughter by gross negligence.

At the Court of Appeal earlier, three judges allowed Xiao to appeal against his conviction, which will be heard at a later date.

Lord Justice Dingemans, sitting with 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."

Xiao 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.

The trial at Winchester Crown Court was told Danielle, who was from Lewes in East Sussex and had Type 1 diabetes, had joined the Paida Lajin workshop, which means 'slap and stretch', after attending another in Bulgaria a few months earlier.

Jurors were told she had sought alternatives to her insulin medication because of her vegetarianism and fear of needles.

The court was told, by the third day of the event, Danielle was seen "vomiting, tired and weak" and had been "howling in pain".

She died on the fourth day of the workshop.

The court was told Danielle had provided 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".

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