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Woman "howling in pain" before death at slapping therapy workshop
(HTM) Source
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# Woman 'in pain' before death at slapping workshop
18 hours ago
By Sammy Jenkins & PA Media, BBC News, West of England
PA
Hongchi Xiao, 61, of Cloudbreak, California, is on trial at Winchester
Crown Court
A diabetic woman was "crying on her bed" after she stopped taking
insulin during a slapping therapy workshop run by an alternative
healer, a court has been told.
Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, died in October 2016 while taking part in a
workshop in Wiltshire which promoted Paida Lajin therapy, which sees
patients being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly.
Prosecutor Duncan Atkinson told Winchester Crown Court Mrs Carr-Gomm
had been seen to be "vomiting, tired and weak" and had been "howling
in pain".
The leader of the workshop, Hongchi Xiao, 61, of Cloudbreak,
California, denies manslaughter by gross negligence.
Wiltshire Police
Danielle Carr-Gomm died in October 2016
Mr Atkinson said the 30 people attending the workshop at Cleeve House
in Seend were "keen disciples" of the defendant, who was described as
Master Xiao in the programme for the event.
He said Ms Carr-Gomm, from Lewes in East Sussex, had sought
alternatives to her insulin medication because of her fear of needles,
and she had described Mr Xiao as a "messenger sent by God".
Mr Atkinson said participants fasted for several days, only consumed
Chinese tea and signed a disclaimer form which stated the practice was
not "meant for medical treatment".
Mrs Carr-Gomm had Type 1 diabetes, meaning she had to take insulin
every day to keep her blood glucose levels under control.
But Mr Atkinson told the court that she announced on the first day of
the workshop that she had stopped taking her insulin, which Mr Xiao
"congratulated" her on.
"He did nothing to alert others to the risk. He simply congratulated
her and allowed a Type 1 diabetic to commence fasting without
insulin," he added.
## 'Healing crisis'
Mr Atkinson said other participants interpreted Mrs Carr-Gomm's
deteriorating condition as a "healing crisis" - a term used by the
defendant as the process of the Paida Lajin taking effect.
The prosecutor said the decision to intervene had to come from the
defendant as the participants "relied on him and his interpretation of
what was happening".
Mr Atkinson said her condition worsened in the early hours of the
Thursday - four days after she had stopped taking insulin - and she
died of diabetic ketoacidosis.
He told the court Mrs Carr-Gomm's life could have been saved if she
had received medical care, including the administration of insulin,
and "no-one was better placed" than the defendant" to "make sure that
this happened."
In an interview after he was arrested, the court was also told Mr Xiao
had believed Mrs Carr-Gomm was weak from fasting and had not needed an
ambulance.
Mr Atkinson said Mr Xiao had written a book which contained messages
which "very clearly" showed the defendant "viewed drugs such as
insulin as poisons" and that his own methods "should be effective on
almost all diseases".
## 'Independent woman'
Defending, Charles Row told the jury the defendant denied having a
duty of care over Mrs Carr-Gomm and he had made it "absolutely clear"
to her he was not medically trained.
He said Mr Xiao had told her not to stop taking her insulin and Ms
Carr-Gomm "was a law unto herself, a strong, driven and independent
woman."
Mr Row added that the defendant claimed his actions were not causative
of Ms Carr-Gomm's death.
"The degree of influence he had over Danielle Carr-Gomm is very much
an issue, as is the question of whether he assumed responsibility for
her safety," Mr Row said.
The trial continues.
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