A 65-year-old Chinese quack was today sentenced to 15 years in prison for practising medicine without license, leading to the death of a college student.
Besides the sentence, the Luoyang Intermediate People's Court also fined Hu Wanlin, who claims himself to be an "omnipotent doctor", of 200,000 yuan (USD 32,500).
In late August 2013, Hu and his followers took a group of 12 "patients" to a hotel in Xin'an County in central China's Henan province on a "health program".
A 22-year-old college student Yun Xuyang, a devotee of traditional Chinese medicine, died after taking a substance provided by Hu.
An autopsy had shown the victim of consuming Glauber's salt, a colourless hydrated sodium sulfate used in paper and glass manufacture and a cathartic and diuretic.
Hu's partners, Lyu Wei and Tang Mengjun, were awarded 11 years and three years respectively with different fines.
A fourth defendant, He Guizhi, was exempted from criminal penalty, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
The court ordered the four defendants to pay compensation of 85,889 yuan for economic losses to the family of Yun.
Another patient became unconscious after taking Hu's concoction, but was saved by doctors at Xin'an County People's Hospital.
Hu, a native of Mianyang City in Sichuan Province, was sentenced 15 years in prison in 2001 for practising medicine without a license.
He was released in 2011 after a term reduction.
Hu along with Lyu said they plan to appeal their verdict.
