PRD residents shocked at the beating death of a Shandong woman by a religious group named the Church of the Almighty God may be surprised to hear they are well-entrenched in Guangzhou.

Seven people belonging to the cult were prosecuted at the Haizhu District Procuratorate on June 6, reports the Procuratorate Daily. Arrested in January of this year, alleged leader Bai Xiujie and six group members were charged with “undermining law implementation through a cult organization”.

Reports have been unclear as to the fate of the defendants and what punishments they may face.  

READ: Crackdown on “Cult” Has Begun,
Guangdong Woman Gets 5 Years in Jail 

Described as an “evil cult” by the Chinese media, the Church of the Almighty God has been classified as an illegal group by the state.

The Church of the Almighty God has had groups based in the Baiyun and Haizhu districts of Guangzhou since March 2013. Despite the ban, the group continues to congregate and distribute literature. Police have seized 106 documents, 75 books and 133,000 electronic files related to the group.

As China Topix reports, Church of the Almighty God was first established in the 90s in Henan by Zhao Weishan. The cult claims Jesus Christ has been resurrected through Yang Xiangbin, the wife of the cult’s founder, who fled to the US in 2000.

Related:

• Woman Beaten to Death at McDonald’s for Refusing to Give Her Phone Number
• McDonald’s Cult Leader Gets TV Interview, More Details of Deadly Attack Emerge

Photo: Hexun