Rachel Morgan reports that Hongchi Xiao, 63, an alternative healer convicted of manslaughter after a fatal therapy session in Wiltshire, has been released from prison just 18 months into his 10-year sentence. The decision to deport him back to the United States, where he is understood not to be in custody at present, was made under the Early Removal Scheme.
Xiao's conviction related to the death of Danielle Carr-Gomm, a 71-year-old diabetic woman who died during a 'Paida Lajin' therapy event in 2016. The controversial practice involved participants being slapped or slapping themselves, with claims that it could cure various ailments. Ms Carr-Gomm had attended a similar workshop in Bulgaria months earlier and stopped taking her insulin, leading to serious illness before recovery.
At the Court of Appeal hearing on Friday, Lord Justice Dingemans quashed an application to overturn Xiao's conviction, stating that he appeared to have been returned to the US on 2 July 2026. A government spokesperson confirmed the deportation and clarified that Xiao is prohibited from ever returning to the UK, with any future attempts resulting in him serving the remainder of his sentence.
During the appeal hearing, Xiao's legal team argued that a waiver signed by participants had been improperly presented to the jury at his original trial. They also claimed the trial judge had misdirected the jury regarding evidence from another participant. However, Lord Justice Dingemans dismissed the appeal, concluding that the trial judge was entitled to set out the evidence as he understood it and that the comments about the waiver did not render the trial unfair or the verdict unsafe.
The Winchester Crown Court trial heard harrowing details of Ms Carr-Gomm's final days, including that she was 'howling in pain' and 'frothing at the mouth' before her death on the fourth day of the workshop. Jurors were told she had been seeking alternatives to her insulin medication due to her vegetarianism and a fear of needles.