Self-styled China doctors nabbed for performing ‘bloodletting therapy’ to ‘remove’ evil energy

South China Morning Post · Feb 24, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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The authorities in Shanghai have arrested a group of self-styled doctors who carried out “bloodletting therapy” claiming it would remove “evil energy” from people.Footage of three people performing the therapy on a man, which was released by Shanghai TV recently, shocked social media.The male patient, above, is seen lying on a bed before the procedure began. Photo: WeiboThe video shows that three self-styled doctors insert a long needle into a man’s arm before letting the blood flow out along the needle, forming a small pool of blood on the floor.They reassured the man that the therapy would only release about 100ml of his blood.They also shared with him the “common sense” that “a healthy person’s blood will not flow out from the needle”, to convince him that “evil energy” had been removed from his body.The so-called doctors did not wear medical gloves or masks. Cotton balls and stained gauze they used were also thrown randomly on the floor.Seconds after the “treatment” gets under way, blood can be seen dripping from the man’s arm. Photo: Weibo