Fatal boob job: Jie Shao found guilty of manslaughter of Jean Huang after botched procedure

The mother of a 35-year-old who died after a botched breast filler procedure has remembered her daughter as a “smart, beautiful, kind, generous and funny” woman whose death made it feel as though her “heart had been torn apart”.

Jie Shao (second from left) leaving Sydney Downing Centre court flanked by her legal team. Picture: Adam Yip

The mother of a 35-year-old who died after a botched breast filler procedure has remembered her daughter as a “smart, beautiful, kind, generous and funny” woman whose death made it feel as though her “heart had been torn apart”.

Jean Huang’s life support was turned off on September 1, 2017.

Jie Shao, a 40-year-old Chinese national, was found guilty of causing Ms Huang’s death after a three-week trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court in March.

Shao had earlier pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of using a poison to endanger life but, after less than four hours of deliberations, a jury found her guilty of the more serious charge of manslaughter.

Jean Huang. Picture: Facebook

The court previously heard that Ms Huang was declared brain dead from an overdose of anaesthetic which was administered by Shao during the treatment at an inner west beauty clinic.

At Shao’s sentencing hearing on Friday, Crown Prosecutor Sara Gul said the matter was a serious example of manslaughter that would require a jail sentence.

“(The) life a much loved, high achieving and vibrant (woman) … was cut short,” she said.

She also told the court a lethal drug was administered without regard to the need for emergency equipment.

The court also heard Shao had misrepresented her medical credentials on WeChat.

Shao’s defence barrister Winston Terracini SC told the court his client had been asked to carry out the procedure by Ms Huang, even though she was aware Shao was not a registered practitioner.

Jie Shao leaves the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone

He also said his client had expressed remorse and acknowledged she was at least partially responsible for Ms Huang’s death.

The court heard victim impact statements from Ms Huang’s mother and her husband.

Ms Huang’s mother described her daughter as the “head of the family” who immigrated to Australia and had helped her parents navigate their new lives in Australia when she was only 18-years-old.

Just before she died, Ms Huang had called her mum to tell her she had booked a restaurant to celebrate her coming birthday. They would never be able to have that birthday dinner together.

A court previously heard Shao, who was not registered as a practising doctor in Australia, flew out from China in the days before the procedure.

Jie Shao leaving Downing Centre District Court with her legal team at an earlier date. Picture: Monique Harmer

The cosmetic procedure was performed at the Media Beauty Clinic in Chippendale, in inner Sydney, where Ms Huang was a part owner and manager.

Ms Huang began convulsing and foaming at the mouth before going into cardiac arrest during the procedure, the court previously heard.

She was rushed to hospital but was declared brain dead from an overdose of anaesthetic. Two days later, her life support was turned off.

The court previously heard Shao had administered painkiller Tramadol, a local anaesthetic Lidocaine and a breast filler. The Tramadol, which was from Portugal, and the filler, from Korea, were not approved for Australian use.

During the trial, Ms Gul told the jury Shao had administered a dose of Lidocaine which was far higher than a safe limit.

Soon after Shao injected the anaesthetic, Ms Huang started slurring her words but “the accused kept going, kept injecting the Lidocaine,” Ms Gul said previously.

Judge Timothy Gartelmann reserved his judgment.