SCMP: Teacher in shock peroxide confession (26 July, 1996)

26 July, 1996 (Friday)

ALEX LO and JANE MOIR

After drinking hydrogen peroxide for two months, Hosanna Law Chor-hing yesterday claimed she was completely cured of the heart disease she had had for the past five years and had been told was incurable.

The primary school teacher, 28, insisted she had been cured through following the church’s teaching.

But the practice brought dire warnings from health professionals yesterday, who spelt out the dangers of any consumption of hydrogen peroxide.

A follower of the Church of Zion for five years, Ms Law said she would not discourage school children from drinking the chemical. She refused to disclose where she taught.

‘I think the chemical works and it’s healthy if it is properly used. If school children want to use it, I will supply them with the relevant information,’ she said.

‘Why should they be stopped from using something that is good for them? It worked for me.’ Ms Law was among more than 10 church followers yesterday who claimed the use of hydrogen peroxide had cured their illnesses, from near blindness to a successful birth after several miscarriages.

As the controversy surrounding the church intensified, cult leader Leung Yat-wah made his first public appearance yesterday in more than a week to defend his teachings.

He said he was sent back to Hong Kong by the Church of Zion in Vancouver in 1985 to found a branch here.

His work was successful and it attracted several hundred followers by the end of the 1980s. The Vancouver church was impressed and ordained him a pastor in 1991.

Yesterday he called on his followers to testify to the effectiveness of his medical teachings.

Ms Law said she suffered a heart problem which resulted in an irregular heartbeat and periodic intense chest pain. Two doctors had told her the condition was incurable.

She started taking three drops of hydrogen peroxide a day but ended up taking more than 75 drops every day for five weeks. She said she was cured of chest pain and her heartbeat was regular. She has not been back to consult the doctors.

She said like many followers, she donated 10 per cent of her salary to the church each month. ‘They never force us to do it. We do so voluntarily,’ she said.

Hong Kong Medical Association president Dr Lee Kin-hung yesterday warned the public not to consume one drop of the chemical, regardless of whether they believed it to be a deadly poison or healthy potion.

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