A grandmother’s quest for a natural cure for her diabetes ended in her death during a controversial “slapping therapy” workshop, The Telegraph reported Thursday.
Self-proclaimed healer and the founder of the Pailala Institute, Hongchi Xiao, was charged for the death of the elderly woman, according to The Telegraph. Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, succumbed to the effects of the unconventional treatment at Cleeve House, Wiltshire in Oct. 2016. She had been participating in a “paida lajin” therapy session, a Chinese holistic approach involving repeated slapping to purportedly release blood toxins, or “sha.”
Xiao is an advocate for the supposed benefits of “paida lajin” in increasing circulation and detoxifying blood. He has also authored “Heal Yourself Naturally Now,” where he discussed the method, per The Telegraph. (RELATED: Woman Dies After Taking Popular Weight Loss Drug To Shed Pounds For Daughter’s Wedding)
‘Healer’ charged in death of grandmother at slapping therapy workshop https://t.co/RFYGuVs80t pic.twitter.com/6BrebLgwcp
— New York Post (@nypost) December 1, 2023
Carr-Gomm, who had a deep fear of needles, was afraid of insulin injections and was constantly on the lookout for alternative diabetes treatments, The Telegraph reported. Her son, Matthew, disclosed her lifelong pursuit of holistic solutions and her determination to live a full life despite her condition. Carr-Gomm paid $931 for Xiao’s therapy and documented her journey and experiences in a blog.
She described in her blog how a session in Bulgaria left her with extensive bruising, per the NY Post. “[This] indicated that a lot of ‘sha’ or poisoned blood and toxins had been released,” the elderly woman said. She also underwent ‘lajin,’ a painful stretching exercise, which she recounted “felt like agony and eternity.”
“My hope is that a second and perhaps third group workshop will help me to heal completely,” she wrote, per the NY Post.
Her son spoke of her as a “victim of false hope.” He was convinced that his mother’s life would have been spared had she not attended the workshop, per the NY Post. Carr-Gomm’s death isn’t an isolated incident linked to Xiao’s methods. He had previously faced questioning in Australia regarding the death of a seven-year-old diabetic boy. Xiao was arrested upon his return to the UK from Australia and charged with manslaughter by gross negligence.