Two Sydney parents have been charged with the manslaughter of their diabetic six-year-old son, who died after attending a "self-healing" course where he was allegedly deprived of insulin and food. 
 
 Emergency services found the Year 1 student unconscious and not breathing at the Ritz Hotel in Hurstville on April 30, 2015, after the boy had left the workshop held at a nearby clinic. He died at the scene. 
 
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 Link Hongchi Xiao, the "healer" who treated the six-year-old boy. 
 
 Police on Tuesday arrested the boy's father, 56, and mother, 41, at their home in Prospect in Sydney's west and took them into custody, alleging their "gross negligence" caused the boy's death. Authorities believe the parents were complicit in the deliberate denial of food and medicine. 
 
 But the man who ran the $1800 week-long course continues to elude police in Australia as well as Britain, where he was recently detained on suspicion of manslaughter over another death. 
 
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 Link Danielle Carr-Gomm, 71, died during a weekend retreat run by Hongchi Xiao. Photo: Supplied 
 
 Hongchi Xiao, a Chinese born self-described "healer" who left Australia in the days after the death, practises his own form of therapy called "paidalajin", which combines fasting, stretching and slapping the skin to the point of bruising. 
 
 "You have to be hard a little bit, cruel a little bit, but not too much," Mr Xiao said when describing paidalajin in a video last year. 
 
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 He was treating Danielle Carr-Gomm, a 71-year-old diabetic, when she died suddenly in October during a retreat he ran in south-west England. Police then released him on bail. 
 
 Mr Xiao, who has promoted himself in Australia with the help of his Queensland convert Ben James, compared his treatment to yoga and taichi. 
 
 "In each of my books and seminars, I have emphasised that I am not a doctor," Mr Xiao said in a message posted to Facebook that rejected responsibility for the boy's death. 
 
 The same post linked to what he called a "strictly controlled" Indian study of 25 people that recommended paidalajin for diabetes while referring to "healing crises". 
 
 "[Type 1 diabetes patients] recorded improvements in their clinical condition," the report said. 
 
 "However, during the Healing crisis and fasting when their blood sugars went up [they] needed medical support in the form of calories, fluids and rapid action insulin to prevent ketoacidosis." 
 
 Ketoacidosis is a medical emergency caused by a lack of insulin, according to Diabetes Australia. 
 
 The Tasly Healthpac Centre in Hurstville where the boy attended the workshop has previously said that Mr Xiao "rented a room from our centre to conduct what was described to us as a series of health seminars". The clinic has said the boy was not a patient of the clinic. 
 
 The parents, granted conditional bail, were both due to appear before local courts this week. They each face a maximum of 25 years' jail if convicted. ||||| Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe See our privacy notice Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again later Invalid Email 
 
 A man died from a heart attack after biting his nails until they bled. 
 
 John Gardener’s habit had become so severe the infection turned sceptic and caused a fatal heart attack just days after his 40th birthday. 
 
 He was rushed to hospital but died two weeks later. 
 
 His fingernail biting was so extreme that doctors believe he became immune to the pain. 
 
 An inquest heard he been treated for anxiety and depression in the years leading up to his death as his nail-biting habit intensified. He also suffered ill health as a result of being diabetic. 
 
 John’s GP Dr Daniel Vernon described Mr Gardener’s fingernails as ‘in constant poor condition’, causing him to lose almost all feeling and sensation in them. 
 
 And his mother Jean Gardener, 60, claimed more could have been done to stop her son's tragic death. 
 
 Speaking from her home in Wigan, Lancashire, the mum-of-three said: “It was such a tragedy, we’re all in shock. 
 
 “It’s really hit our family hard, there could’ve been more done to help him. 
 
 “I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone else’s son - it’s just devastating." 
 
 Doctors believe John’s condition was able to deteriorate after he became immune to the pain he would’ve been suffering. 
 
 Dr Vernon said: “John’s nails were always in poor condition and they were often bleeding when he came to the doctors.” 
 
 The coroner at the hearing in Bolton heard how John underwent surgery to remove the tip of his finger eight days after being admitted into hospital. 
 
 Before that, he was treated with intravenous antibiotics and was monitored by medical staff daily to see if his condition improved as he said that he didn’t want to lose his finger. 
 
 He showed signs of slow but gradual improvement and didn’t display any signs of high temperature or fevers, the inquest heard. 
 
 Consultant hand and orthopaedic surgeon Chye Ng said he was as shocked by his patient’s sudden death as the family were. 
 
 He added: “The passing of John Gardener was really upsetting and shocking for all of the team.” 
 
 The court was told how in 2011 he also underwent an operation to amputate his lower right leg after he contracted leg ulcers - a not uncommon problem among diabetics. 
 
 A spokesman from Wrightington Wigan and Leigh Hospital Trust said: “We would like to extend our sincere sympathies to the family and friends of John Gardener. 
 
 “We always strive to provide safe, effective and compassionate care to all patients. 
 
 “It is clear from the evidence given at the inquest that John received a high standard of treatment throughout the time he was under our care.” 
 
 Recording a narrative verdict, coroner Alan Walsh said: “This is a death of great sadness to everybody - his death happened so suddenly. 
 
 “I believe John had a difficult life after being diagnosed with diabetes at just 10 months old and not only this, he had to come to terms with self-injecting himself twice a day. 
 
 “And then he had problems with leg ulcers and problems after surgery because of this.”
– In 2015, Australian 6-year-old Aidan Fenton attended a controversial week-long "self-healing" workshop meant to treat his diabetes. After attending a course and returning to a nearby hotel, the boy collapsed in his family's room; his parents' screams got the attention of staff, who called police, but Aidan died at the scene, the Washington Post reports. Now, nearly two years later, his parents, ages 56 and 41, have been arrested and charged with their son's manslaughter. Police say Aidan was denied food and insulin, and they say his parents were complicit in that denial; their "gross negligence" caused his death, police say, per the Sydney Morning Herald. If convicted, they face 25 years in jail. The workshop was run by Hongchi Xiao, a Chinese man who describes himself as a "healer" and practices what he calls "paidalajin" therapy. It involves fasting, stretching, and slapping the skin until it bruises in order to release "poisoned blood." He has not been charged in Aidan's death, and in a Facebook post shortly after the incident he denied responsibility. But he was arrested in November in the UK on suspicion of manslaughter after a 71-year-old woman with diabetes died during one of his retreats. He's currently out on bail. Xiao insists that a study shows his paidalajin therapy can "cure" diabetes, though he notes that during a "healing crisis" while undergoing the therapy, patients needed treatment including "rapid action insulin to prevent ketoacidosis," a medical emergency that can lead to death. (A family faces charges in the death of a teen after a 68-day fast.)