By Clare Sibthorpe and Sarah McPhee
A Chinese national in Australia on a tourist visa who killed a “smart, beautiful and kind� Sydney woman by performing an illegal breast augmentation procedure has been jailed for six years.
Jean Huang, 35, walked into a Chippendale beauty clinic on August 30, 2017, planning to have hyaluronic acid filler injected into her breasts to boost her cup size.
Jie Shao (left) and Jean Huang (right)Credit: Nick Moir (left)
Instead, Huang was carried out of the clinic by paramedics and died two days later in hospital after suffering cardiac arrest.
Almost seven years later, 40-year old Jie Shao has been sentenced to six years and nine months’ jail at Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Thursday, with a non-parole period of three years and six months over Huang’s death. A jury found her guilty of manslaughter in March.
Shao, who had received a bachelor’s medicine degree in China but was an unregistered medical practitioner in Australia, had denied manslaughter but admitted to the lesser offence of recklessly administering poison endangering life.
Huang was the part-owner and operator of the Medi Beauty Clinic. She had organised for Shao, who was in Australia on a tourist visa, to perform the illegal procedure, the court heard.
Jie Shao (left) arrives at court during her trial.Credit: Kate Geraghty
Judge Timothy Gartelmann said that Shao prepared an amount of the local anaesthetic, lidocaine, which was between nine and 12 times the safe amount for Huang’s small body.
“Any reasonable person in the circumstances would have realised this was dangerous,� Gartelmann said.
Huang was given the painkiller tramadol via an intravenous drip. An incision was made on each breast, a solution of lidocaine and saline was administered, and 17 syringes, each containing three millilitres of filler, were injected on either side, according to agreed facts.
The court heard Huang’s condition quickly deteriorated. She said she felt “dizzy�, slurred her words and became incomprehensible. She lost consciousness and began convulsing, foaming at the mouth and vomiting.
The clinic did not have live monitoring for Huang’s vital signs, emergency medical equipment or medicine such as intra lipids to treat lidocaine toxicity, the court heard. Two registered nurses were also required to be present.
Gartelmann found the evidence presented at the trial did not establish beyond reasonable doubt that Shao knew the clinic was unlicensed to perform the procedure or that it lacked the necessary staff or equipment, but concluded she “ought to have made enquiries about this and she did not�.
“She did not intend to kill the deceased or cause her serious harm. It would be a case of murder if she had,� Gartelmann said.
“But she was at least reckless as to causing injury to the deceased.�
Shao’s three-week trial had heard that she travelled to Australia in the days before the procedure.
The judge found Shao had clearly planned to perform the procedure using lidocaine. While her defence had argued she was called in as a back-up to perform the procedure, when a male doctor “stepped out�, movements from CCTV footage within the clinic were inconsistent with this argument, he said.
A co-offender, unregistered nurse Yueqiong Fu, was earlier sentenced to a community sentence for administering the poison. The court found she was following Shao’s instructions.
Gartelmann said Huang’s death had profoundly affected Huang’s family members.
In a victim impact statement, read to the court this year, Huang’s husband Weisi Fu said more than six-and-a-half years had passed since her death, causing him pain and sadness.
“I had to stand up and fight for my wife,� he said.
He said there was “no winner�, but that he had welcomed the jury’s verdict.
Huang’s mother, Lily Huang, said Jean was the light of their family and was smart, beautiful, kind, generous and funny. She said when she was called to the hospital, “it felt like my heart had been torn apart�.
“I never had the chance to say goodbye,� she said in her statement, also read to the court.
“She is always in the deepest part of my heart. Jean, thank you for being my daughter.�
Gartelmann said Shao had been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and anxiety since the incident, which would make her time in prison more onerous. He said she had shown some remorse in admitting to the lesser charge.
Shao was emotionless as she received her sentence, which was backdated for time already spent in custody and immigration. She was supported in court by her son.
She will be eligible for parole on December 18, 2026.