Two executed for cult murder in Chinese McDonald's

SHANDONG , China, Feb. 2 (UPI) -- Two cult members were executed for a 2014 murder in a Shandong, China, McDonald's restaurant, a local court announced Monday. Zhang Lidong and his daughter, Zhang Fan, were among members of the banned Church of Almighty God, who attempted to recruit a woman, Wu Shuoyan, in the restaurant in May 2014, and beat her to death, contending she was possessed by an evil spirit, after she refused to offer her telephone number.

The Shandong Yantai Intermediate People's Court said Monday the pair "committed murder and used a cult to intentionally break the law."

The group was tried and convicted in October. Three were given jail sentences of between three and seven years.

The Church of Almighty God has been linked to kidnappings and extortion in China, and has been banned since 1995. It contends God returned to Earth reincarnated as a Chinese woman prepared to unleash the apocalypse, and claims it has millions of followers. The killings initiated public outrage across China, and authorities have since detained hundreds of cult members.