Revealed: The £750 one-week ‘slapping therapy’ workshop where patients get bruised black and blue that ended with diabetic grandmother’s death in Wiltshire country hotel
- Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, died at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire in 2016
Published: 11:57, 1 December 2023 | Updated: 11:57, 1 December 2023
This is the 19th century country hotel where a diabetic grandmother died at a GBP750 ‘slapping therapy’ workshop after she launched a desperate search for alternative medicine due to her crippling fear of needles.
Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, died at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire, where she was taking part in a seminar to help her manage the condition on October 20, 2016.
The workshop is understood to involve paida lajin therapy, which sees patients being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly.
Her death was thrust back into the spotlight this week when Wiltshire Police charged Hongchi Xiao, 60, of Cloudbreak, California[2], with Mrs Carr-Gomm’s manslaughter by gross negligence.
Mr Xhiao, a self-styled Chinese healer from Beijing, run the workshop for patients at a cost of GBP750.
Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, died at Cleeve House in Seend, Wiltshire, where she was taking part in a seminar to help her manage the condition on October 20, 2016
The Wiltshire retreat (pictured) – which hosts weddings, Christmas parties and corporate events – was the second run by Mr Xiao that Mrs Carr-Gomm attended in 2016, according to a detailed blog she wrote in August that year about her battle with diabetes
The guru has previously spoken of his belief that ‘toxins’ causing illness can be eradicated from the body by hard, repeated slapping and painful stretching on a bench, a technique called Paida-Lajin.
The ‘treatment’ also involves fasting for days on end.
The Wiltshire retreat – which hosts weddings, Christmas parties and corporate events – was the second run by Mr Xiao that Mrs Carr-Gomm attended in 2016, according to a detailed blog she wrote in August that year about her battle with diabetes.
In July she went to one in Bulgaria, where she owned a home. She wrote that at the end of her first ‘Paida’ slapping session ‘large areas of my body were bruised and blue which indicated that a lot of ‘sha’ or poisoned blood and toxins had been released’.
The following day she endured two minutes of ‘Lajin’ – forcible stretching on a bench – ‘which felt like agony and an eternity’.
For the next two days she decided to stop taking insulin, the hormone that many diabetics must take to regulate blood sugar levels.
Her death was thrust back into the spotlight this week when Wiltshire Police charged Hongchi Xiao, 60, of Cloudbreak, California , with Mrs Carr-Gomm’s manslaughter by gross negligence
After discovering her blood glucose readings were ‘sky high’ she resumed her insulin injections. Undeterred, she wrote: ‘My hope is that a second and perhaps third group workshop will help me to heal completely.’
Mrs Carr-Gomm, who had type one diabetes, wrote about how she had tried alternative therapies such as ‘a seven-day fruit fast, Chinese herbal remedies, acupuncture, and a costly stem cell transplant in Germany.’
Her son Matthew, 43, said at the time of her death that his mother had been ‘a victim of false hope’.
He added: ‘She was convinced this alternative treatment was going to have a positive effect.
‘She had a lifelong fear of needles so diabetes was probably the worst illness she could get.
That was why she was so keen to try alternative therapies.’
Cleeve House was established in 1857 and a description on its website says it ‘exudes a charming and elegant site identity that reflects its status as a premier countryside events venue for hire’.
The description adds: ‘With its stunning historic architecture, picturesque gardens, and idyllic countryside location, Cleeve House offers a unique blend of natural beauty, sophistication, and rustic charm.’
References
- ^ Tom Pyman (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ California (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ California (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Beijing (www.dailymail.co.uk)