Chinese cult members sentenced to death for brutal murder of woman at McDonald's
Father and daughter get death penalty, while another sentenced to life for killing a woman they tried to recruit
PUBLISHED : Saturday, 11 October, 2014, 1:50pm
UPDATED : Sunday, 12 October, 2014, 12:26am
Reuters and Associated Press in Beijing
One of the defendants, Zhang Hang, cries as she received a 10-year prison sentence. Photo: Reuters
Two members of a banned religious cult in China were sentenced to death on Saturday for the murder of a woman at a McDonald’s restaurant after she refused an apparent attempt by the group to recruit her.
The 37-year-old woman was attacked in May in the eastern province of Shandong by members of Quannengshen, the Church of Almighty God, which had preached that a global apocalypse would take place in 2012.
The Yantai Intermediate People’s Court sentenced to death Zhang Fan, 29, and her father Zhang Lidong, 55, for intentional homicide and gave another member of the group, Lu Yingchun, 39, life in prison, the official Xinhua news agency said.
The three told the court that they acted in self-defence after they were attacked by the “demon’s supernatural powers”, referring to the victim.
Another two cult members, Zhang Hang and Zhang Qiaolian were sentenced to 10 and seven years of jail terms respectively, Xinhua said. One is the younger sister of Zhang Fan, while the other is a female friend of Lidong.
The five defendants were tried in August. A 12-year-old who was with the group when the McDonald’s killing happen was tried separately.
The killing sparked a national outcry after it was revealed the woman was beaten to death for allegedly refusing to give her telephone number to members of the group.
Zhang Fan and Lu called the victim “an evil spirit” and a “demon” before the group beat her with a chair, mops and kicked and trampled on her with leather shoes, the court said.
The five defendants, members of the Almighty God cult, appear in court. A 12-year-old who was also arrested, was tried separately. Photo: Reuters
The group also forbade anyone in the fast food restaurant from intervening, the court said, calling the murder “extremely cruel”.
China’s supreme court must review and approve all death sentences handed out by trial courts.
The Quannengshen group, which originated in central Henan province, believes that Jesus was resurrected as Yang Xiangbin, wife of the sect’s founder, Zhao Weishan, according to previous Xinhua reports.
Zhao is also known as Xu Wenshan, Xinhua has said, adding that the couple fled to the United States in September 2000.
In 2012, China launched a crackdown on the group after it called for a “decisive battle” to slay the “Red Dragon” Communist Party, and preached that the world would end that year.
The party brooks no challenge to its rule and is determined to maintain social stability. It has cracked down on cults, which have multiplied in recent years. Demonstrations have been put down with force and some sect leaders executed.
In 1999, then-president Jiang Zemin launched a campaign to crush the Falun Gong religious group. It was banned as “evil cult” after thousands of practitioners staged a surprise but peaceful sit-in outside the leadership compound in Beijing to demand official recognition of their movement.
WATCH: A witness video of the attack at McDonald's (WARNING: Graphic content)
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