Slapping therapist jailed over death 'released early'

Hongchi Xiao led workshops that encouraged people to slap themselves to rid themselves of "poisonous waste"

An alternative healer jailed over the death of a woman at one of his workshops has been released from prison just 18 months into a 10-year sentence, it is understood.

Hongchi Xiao, 63, from California, was convicted and sentenced in 2024 for the manslaughter by gross negligence of 71-year-old Danielle Carr-Gomm in 2016.

Carr-Gomm, who was diabetic, died while taking part in a therapy event in Wiltshire, which involved people being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly.

On Friday, during a Court of Appeal hearing where an application to overturn his conviction was quashed, it emerged Xiao had been returned to the US and was believed to no longer be in custody.

In his judgment, Lord Justice Dingemans said it seemed Xiao had been returned to the US on 2 July through the Early Removal Scheme.

This enables eligible foreign national offenders to be deported from the UK once they have served the minimum required proportion of their sentence.

However, he added: "Other information suggests he was deported on 30 June 2026. It seems that Mr Xiao is not in custody in the USA."

A government spokesperson said: "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."

They added if Xiao were to return to the UK, he will be liable to serve the rest of his sentence from the point he was deported.

It was announced on Wednesday that new Prime Minister Andy Burnham was pausing an upcoming scheme that would have seen thousands of prisoners in England and Wales eligible to be released from prison early.

As part of the Court of Appeal hearing, lawyers for Xiao argued that a waiver – which Carr-Gomm and the other participants signed to say the therapist was not liable for any injuries or illnesses arising from the activities – had been inappropriately summed up to the jury by Mr Justice Bright at trial.

They also said the judge misdirected the jury about evidence from another of the participants.

But Lord Justice Dingemans, sitting with Mr Justice Murray and Judge Andrew Lees, said on Friday the previous judge "was entitled to set out the evidence as he understood it".

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

"This is because the judge was simply pointing out that the waiver did not reflect the reality of the relationship betw