BEIJING (AP) -- Chinese authorities in the central province of Hunan have executed the leader of the outlawed "Master of God" cult and sentenced another member to 17 years in prison, the official newspaper Legal Daily reported Wednesday.
Liu Jiaguo was executed after the Hunan High Court upheld his death sentence for raping 11 women, including two under 14, and defrauding members of the cult he founded in 1993. Fellow cult leader Zhu Aiqing received a 17-year prison sentence.The "Master of God" cult is among many that have been targeted in a harsh crackdown on all unauthorized religious activities that also resulted in the July 22 banning of the popular Falun Gong meditation movement.
According to accounts in the state-run media, Liu broke away from another banned cult, the "Beili King" group, after disagreeing with its leader. After Beili King leader Wu Yangming was executed in 1995, Liu sought to lure away his rival's devotees, eventually winning a following of some 10,000 people.
As in the case with the Falun Gong, Chinese authorities accused Liu's cult of seeking to overthrow the government and of deceiving members.
It said Liu and others seduced girls by quoting the Bible out of context.