Alternative healer gets 10 years in UK prison for death of woman at slap therapy workshop

apnews.com Alternative healer gets 10 years in UK prison for death of woman at slap therapy workshop

An alternative healer who advocated “slapping therapy” to treat a range of maladies has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for the death of a 71-year-old diabetic woman who stopped taking insulin during his workshop.

Summary

Alternative healer Hongchi Xiao was sentenced to 10 years in prison in the UK for manslaughter by gross negligence after Danielle Carr-Gomm, a 71-year-old diabetic woman, died during his “slapping therapy” workshop in 2016.

Xiao encouraged Carr-Gomm to stop taking insulin, leading to her severe deterioration and death on the fourth day of the retreat.

Xiao, previously convicted of manslaughter in Australia for a similar death, showed no remorse and continued promoting his unscientific therapy in prison.

The case highlights the dangers of unregulated alternative treatments.

19 comments

Honestly a fair sentence, these assholes prey on desperate people just so they can make money.
- Ten years isn’t enough. He has shown no remorse.
  
  We will see after 10 years have passed. Prison will hopefully reform this person into a better member of society... But yeah i have doubts 🤔

There are certainly legitimate patting/ tapping therapies from Chinese medicine specifically one of the Eight Methods k.a. Tuina Anmo, some of which date back to the Marrow Washing Tendon Changing Classic, approximately 2500 years ago. Charlatans like Hongchi Xiao only do harm to others and to the reputation of traditional Chinese medicine. smh
- It's wonderful to hear that there are legitimate patting/tapping therapies available
  Would you be oh so kind as to point me in the direction of the peer reviewed articles that classify them as such?
  
  HN, you're so kind to ask. I love it when people are curious, legitimately curious, about the world around them. Humans, as it turns, benefit from touch in a whole host of contexts, and throughout life. And while I wouldn't presume to search PubMed for you here, as I suspect you are actually capable of doing it yourself, and are not trolling, nor being anti-Asian racist, in the least at this moment, so here are some examples which you might find of interest.
  The Effect Of Percussive Therapy On Musculoskeletal Performance And Experiences Of Pain: A Systematic Literature Review https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10069390/
  Acute Effects of Two Massage Techniques on Ankle Joint Flexibility and Power of the Plantar Flexors https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3794491/
  Therapeutic effect and safety of Tuina on sciatica https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9191340/
  Tuina for lumbar disc herniation https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7793356/
  Efficacy of Tuina in patients with chronic low back pain: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7077020/
  Thanks for asking, as it always adds to my archive when I get asked to answer basic questions, and to explain the simplest of concepts to those that lack understanding. We all have much to learn.
  Do you get adequate touch in your life?
- Tbf Chinese medicine is usually a load of crap, so they don't have a great reputation to ruin.
  
  There's so many things called "Chinese medicine" that you can always point to something that actually works, like herbs and other extracts, but then the rest is just bullshit like "slapping" lmao.
  
  That's right. My issue with traditional Chinese medicine is in how anti-science / alternative medicine advocates in North America fetishize it. It gets characterized as mysterious ancient wisdom that somehow works and doesn't need explaining.
- Drop your /s??

19 comments