Cult Leader in Southern China Sentenced for Rape, Fraud
BEIJING (AP) - A cult leader in southern China accused of selling toxic food, swindling followers and seducing dozens of women with promises of supernatural powers has been convicted of rape and fraud and sentenced to life in prison, a court said.
Wu Zeheng, founder of the Huazang Zongmen cult, was sentenced Friday in Zhuhai City Intermediate People's Court in the southern province of Guangdong, and fined 7.15 million yuan ($1.13 million). Three of his adherents also were given sentences of up to four years in prison on charges including obstruction of justice.
Wu has accused authorities of persecuting a religious and charitable group.
Prosecutors said Wu set up a cult based loosely on Buddhism, claiming to the successor of several eminent monks and gathering followers who hoped ward off ill fortune, the official Xinhua News Agency said in a report earlier this year.
Some of Wu's female followers accused him of rape while others believed that sleeping with him would help them gain supernatural powers - a ruse he used to sleep with dozens of women, including two pairs of sisters and several minors, Xinhua said.
Police arrested him in July 2014 while he was holed up at his apartment in Zhuhai with a young woman in pajamas, and they seized a cache of watches, jewelry, cigarettes, luxury liquors and cash, Xinhua said.
Wu bought 11 wooden stamps online for about $500 and resold them to his followers for prices up to $80,000 each, saying the items were rare and sacred, the report said.
With contributions from his followers he opened a restaurant in Shenzhen where he sold dishes he said were made with secret recipes and precious ingredients for up to $1,000 a plate. However, prosecutors determined the food was ordinary except for the use of banned herbs, Xinhua said.
Overall, police accused Wu of amassing more than $ 1 million in illegal profits.
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