Chinese 'slapping therapist' charged over six-year-old death and extradited from UK

A Chinese "slapping therapist" has been charged with the manslaughter of a six-year-old diabetic boy.

Hongchi Xiao, who has been promoting the controversial practice of slapping skin to release toxins from patients has been extradited from the UK to Australia over the death of the boy in Sydney in 2015.

The Australian Associated Press reports that the boy, who was a type-1 diabetic, died after he was found unconscious in a hotel in Hurstville, a suburb of southern Sidney.

The six-year-old allegedly became unconscious after his parents took him to a self-healing conference conducted by the 53-year-old healer.

Emergency services were called but they were unable to revive the young child.

Mr Xiao was arrested at a London airport on 25 April this year and he agreed to return to Australia to face charges.

He is due to appear at Sydney Central Local Court on Thursday and was denied bail in the meantime on the basis there would be no way to ensure he would not take part in further slapping workshops.

The boy's father, mother and grandmother were also arrested earlier this year and charged with manslaughter. They were released on conditional bail.

In June, a UK court was told Mr Xiao was also being investigated by British police over the death of a 71-year-old woman who had undergone slapping therapy.

Mr Xiao has been promoting the paida lajin method, which sees patients being slapped or slapping themselves repeatedly.

A video of a 2012 workshop in Malaysia led by Mr Xiao shows participants vigorously slapping parts of their body, particularly joints and the head, until their skin turns red or starts to look bruised.

The method also includes stretching exercises and it is linked to a belief in Chinese traditional medicine that blood can be poisoned by toxins which need to be expelled.

Mr Xiao has repeatedly talked about the "slapping therapy" in interviews and videos posted on the internet.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, in a 2014 radio interview with Australian broadcaster ABC he insisted he was not a "master".

"I'm not a doctor, I'm not a healer. I just teach you a way. You learn and do it yourself," he said.