The Intermediate People's Court of Panjin on Saturday sentenced five members of an outlawed cult known as Quannengshen (the Church of Almighty God or the Eastern Lightning) to jail for spreading the group's ideologies and recruiting new followers.

The group, charged with violating the law and spreading rumors, has been sentenced to two to three years in prison.

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The Eastern Lightning cult gained notoriety last year after a video surfaced of five members of the group beating a 37-year-old woman to death in a McDonald's outlet in Shandong Province. 

The cult members, who carried out the heinous act, claimed the victim - Wu Shuoyan - was "a demon." However, reports indicate that they only started attacking Wu after she refused to give them her phone number when they tried to recruit her. Police staged a crackdown on Quannengshen after this incident and arrested several members of the group. Two members of the cult were sentenced to death for the attack on Wu.

Authorities have attempted to stamp out grass-root cults in the country as they continue to multiply. The Eastern Lightning cult is regarded as one of the most radical of these groups. It was founded by Zhao Weishan more than two decades ago in Heinan Province. The cult believes that Jesus has reincarnated as a Chinese woman - said to be Zhao's wife Yang Xiangbin - who will bring about the destruction of the earth. Zhao and Yang have since migrated to the U.S.

Chinese state media reported that hundreds of videos and books were found with the five Quannengshen members arrested recently.

Experts say Chinese authorities are concerned that the unconventional ideologies of grass-root cults could be used to spread rumors and topple the social order.

In 2012, members of the Eastern Lightning cult claimed that the world was set to come to an end. They also announced a "battle" between God and the Communist Party of China ("the Great Red Dragon"). Authorities have kept a wary eye on the group ever since. The cult, which claims to have scores of members, has a track record of violently attacking those who try to quit.

TagsQuannengshen, Church of Almighty God, Quannengshen Cult, Wu Shuoyan, Zhao Weishan, Eastern Lightning, Eastern Lightning Cult, Eastern Lightning McDonalds, Eastern Lightning Cult Beliefs, Eastern Lightning China