Sonny Hang Chin, 67, was jailed for three years three months in June 2023 after a jury found him guilty of 10 counts of indecent assault.
The Parole Board allowed him early release in January with nearly 18 months remaining on his sentence on the basis he was assessed as a low risk and the only treatment he could undertake was in the community.
But the Otago Daily Times can reveal Corrections has made an application to have Chin recalled to prison to continue serving his term behind bars as rumours swirl about further historical sexual allegations coming to light.
Recall applications usually occur if an offender has breached their parole conditions, committed further offences or acted in a way that indicates they may be an undue risk to the safety of the community.
The Parole Board held an interim recall hearing last week to determine whether Chin should be immediately returned to prison, but in a letter sent to registered victims the board opted against that course.
"This means that the offender will remain in the community at this time," the letter said.
A Parole Board spokesman confirmed a final recall hearing had been scheduled for April 3.
Kristy Ovens, one of Chin’s victims who voluntarily gave up name suppression, said she would not be surprised if her abuser had transgressed while on parole.
"This is exactly the reason why he shouldn’t have been released. He still believed he did nothing wrong," she said.
"I don’t believe he will ever change as he believes the rules don’t apply to him. Here’s hoping this may be the wake-up call he needs to amend his behaviour. I doubt it though."
At trial, Ms Ovens and the other victims gave markedly similar accounts of the abuse they suffered at the hands of the "qigong master".
Chin would attempt to convince the women they had repressed sexual trauma which resulted in negative energy he urgently needed to release.
Invariably, that involved molesting them.
While Chin told the Parole Board at his most recent hearing that he was sorry, he continued to give rambling accounts of his healing philosophies to justify his actions.
"I’ve never denied the offending, but my work is in structural, muscular, motional body work," he said.
"Because not many people understand this work, I’m in this predicament now."
Chin stressed he was now retired and among his parole conditions was a ban on working without the permission of his Probation officer.
His website remains active, but both phone numbers advertised on the website have been disconnected.
An email address bounce-back stated it was "no longer monitored for business purposes and will only be checked intermittently for personal messages".
Chin’s sentence officially ends in June 2026.
