Dr. Jie Shao has been sentenced to six years and nine months in prison after a Sydney jury found her guilty of manslaughter for unlawfully administering a lethal dose of anesthetic to a patient.
Jean Huang, 35, died in September 2017 after Shao injected hyaluronic acid into her breasts as filler. Huang was hospitalized but later declared brain dead, leading to the withdrawal of life support.
During Thursday’s court hearing, Shao remained stoic but quietly wept as Judge Timothy Gartelmann handed down the sentence, which includes a non-parole period of three years and six months.
Judge Gartelmann cited evidence from the trial indicating Shao’s lack of knowledge regarding the appropriate amount of lidocaine to administer and her inability to recognize overdose symptoms. Expert toxicologists testified that Shao had injected Huang with about ten times the safe amount of lidocaine for her body weight.
“The offender did not calculate the safe dosage for the deceased… any reasonable person in the circumstances would have realized this is dangerous,” Judge Gartelmann stated.
Despite Huang displaying signs of a seizure related to the overdose, Shao continued with the procedure. The injection, performed at the Medi Beauty Clinic in Chippendale, Sydney, was not approved in Australia at the time.
Shao had pleaded guilty to an alternative charge of recklessly administering poison endangering life, which the judge acknowledged as a degree of responsibility for the death. “She did not intend to kill the deceased or cause her really serious harm; it would be a case of murder if she had,” Judge Gartelmann said. “But she was at least reckless as to causing injury to the deceased.”
Victim impact statements from Huang’s family highlighted the deep sorrow and loss her death caused. Huang was described as a joyful person who brought happiness to those around her.
In her statement, read by her barrister Winston Terracini SC, Shao expressed remorse and self-blame. “Her passing will stay with me throughout my life… I’m not familiar with Australian ways and shouldn’t have agreed,” Terracini quoted his client.
The judge noted that Shao was unlikely to reoffend and had suffered major depression and anxiety while awaiting trial. With a year already served in custody, Shao’s earliest release date is December 2026, with her full term expiring in March 2030.
