An unlicensed qigong healer accused of killing a cancer patient with misdirected qi faces 10 years in jail.

The Shanghai Minhang District Prosecutors' Office alleged Zhu Wenba crushed the windpipe of a lung cancer sufferer surnamed Bai while treating him with the traditional Chinese practice in November last year.

Qigong practitioners claim they can manipulate their body's qi, or energy flow, through breathing techniques and body motion. Healers claim they can treat disease, including cancer, by releasing qi into patients' bodies.

Prosecutors said Zhu told them that after warming his hands in the sun he released qi energy through the soles of Bai's feet.

Zhu said that after 10 minutes of treatment Bai's lung cancer had been cured and he would recover quickly.

However, shortly after Zhu left, Bai began spitting blood and died, prosecutors said.

A medical examiner with the Minhang District Public Security Bureau said Bai died from a crushed trachea caused by an external force.

Prosecutors said the external force was the energy created by Zhu.

Police found that Zhu did not have a license to practice but claimed to have treated patients for years with no problems.

According to the Criminal Law, people who treat patients without a license and the patient dies should receive a sentence of 10 years.

According to regulations issued by the Ministry of Health, qigong practitioners who want to take up medical treatment must get a license from the health department.

Prosecutors said this was the first time they had encountered a case like this.

Prosecutors said that Bai was diagnosed with cancer three years ago, and his condition was stable after receiving a surgery and a course of Chinese herbal medicine.

His condition deteriorated in November last year and doctors told him they could not cure him.

His family then contacted Zhu. Zhu told prosecutors he had practiced qigong since he was a boy.

(Shanghai Daily October 13, 2006)