Therapist Hongchi Xiao Deported And Freed After Serving 18 Months Of 10-Year Sentence; Appeal Dismissed

Hongchi Xiao, a 63-year-old alternative therapist convicted in 2024 of manslaughter by gross negligence, has been returned to the United States and released after serving 18 months of a 10-year sentence, the Court of Appeal heard.

Xiao was found guilty over the 2016 death of 71-year-old Danielle Carr-Gomm, who had type 1 diabetes and died after stopping her insulin during a week-long Paida Lajin ("slap and stretch") retreat in Wiltshire. Jurors at Winchester Crown Court heard that Carr-Gomm became gravely ill on the fourth day of the event, described as "howling in pain" and "frothing at the mouth" before she died.

Deportation Under Early Removal Scheme

Lord Justice Dingemans told the Court of Appeal that Xiao appeared to have been returned to the US under the Early Removal Scheme, which allows eligible foreign national offenders to be deported after serving the statutory minimum portion of their sentence. The court recorded that Xiao seemed to have been transferred in late June or early July 2026 and that he was believed not to be in custody in the United States.

A government spokesperson commented: "Hongchi Xiao's crimes were terrible, and our thoughts remain with his victims. This government is deporting foreign national offenders at pace, with more than 5,000 deported last year, and Hongchi Xiao is prohibited from ever returning to the UK." The spokesperson added that, if Xiao were to return to the UK, he would be liable to serve the remainder of his sentence from the date of deportation.

Carr-Gomm died after she stopped taking her insulin at one of Xiao's workshops [BBC]

Appeal Dismissed

At the appeal hearing, Xiao's lawyers argued that Mr Justice Bright had misdirected the jury when summarising a waiver that Carr-Gomm and other participants had signed, and that the judge had erred in how he described evidence from another participant. The waiver stated the therapist would not be liable for injuries or illnesses resulting from the activities.

Sitting with Mr Justice Murray and Judge Andrew Lees, Lord Justice Dingemans concluded the trial judge "was entitled to set out the evidence as he understood it" and that any comments about the waiver did not render the trial unfair or the verdict unsafe. The court acknowledged an error in suggesting the waiver might be "decisive"—a point relevant in civil proceedings rather than criminal—but said a legally precise direction could have harmed Xiao's case by making clear the waiver had no legal effect. For these reasons, the appeal against conviction was dismissed.

Background And Wider Context

The jury heard that Carr-Gomm had previously attended a Paida Lajin event in Bulgaria where she also stopped her insulin and became seriously ill but later recovered. Prosecutors said Xiao responded "well done" when Carr-Gomm told other participants she had ceased taking insulin during the Wiltshire retreat.

Xiao was extradited from Australia for the UK trial. Australian authorities had earlier prosecuted him after the death of a six-year-old boy whose parents removed his insulin following attendance at one of Xiao's workshops in Sydney.

The case has resurfaced amid broader political debate about early-release policies: it was reported that the new Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, paused a planned scheme that would have made thousands of prisoners in England and Wales eligible for early release.

Note: Paida Lajin is commonly described as a practice of slapping and stretching intended by practitioners to promote health, but medical professionals warn it can be dangerous—especially for people who stop essential medication such as insulin.