‘Cult’ leader in China prosecuted for rape and fraud

China will prosecute the leader of a “cult” on charges of rape, fraud, sabotage, and other crimes, state news agency Xinhua said, as the government deepens a crackdown on illegal religious movements.

Prosecutors in the southern province of Guangdong are charging Wu Zeheng, founder and leader of Huazang Dharma, and several others, after a year-long probe, Xinhua said.

The US Commission on International Religious Freedom says Wu and his followers are being persecuted for their religious beliefs.

A statement on the group’s website, which is blocked in China, appeals for international help for Wu, saying that he is facing cooked-up accusations.

Wu has already been jailed at least twice, and set up his Buddhist-inspired cult in 2010, upon his last release from jail.

“Glorified with fabricated educational background and life experience, Wu eventually became a master with supernatural power in the eyes of his followers,” prosecutors said.

“In the name of charity and life science, and through inflammatory preaching, Wu lured a growing number of believers who wished to study Buddhism, seek disease treatment, or ward off ill fortune by joining the cult.”

China’s Communist Party does not tolerate challenges to its rule and is obsessed with social stability. Religious activities must be state-sanctioned.

Authorities have pursued what they view as cults, which have multiplied, and demonstrations have been put down with force and sect leaders executed.

The government is considering tougher penalties for cult members, China’s largely rubber-stamp parliament said last month. China executed two members of a banned religious cult in February for murdering a woman in a McDonald’s restaurant after she rebuffed recruitment overtures

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