A Falun Gong practitioner in south China's Hainan Province was arrested by the local police Tuesday for killing his uncle with a kitchen knife.

Aimed to attain Nirvana

Qiu Defeng, 29, of Yutang Village, Chengmai County, set the house of his uncle Qiu Junxian, 68, on fire after murdering him.

He was collecting wood to burn the corpse when the police apprehended him.

Qiu told the police that he had planned to commit suicide, so that, together with his uncle, he could attain Nirvana, the sole aim of practicing Falungong.

Became to practice Falungong ever since 1994

The police investigation found that Qiu became a Falungong follower in 1994, after hearing a lecture by cult leader Li Hongzhi at the Hefei Polytechnical University, where he was a major in accounting from 1993 to 1995.

Ever since, Qiu had never ceased practicing Falungong, as indicated by the books, pictures and compact discs on Falun Gong found in his house by the police.

Murder course

The investigation also disclosed that shortly before the murder, Qiu's newly-married wife had tried to persuade him to abandon Falun Gong. But Qiu beat her, and forced her to seek refuge in her parents' home.

A few days before the murder, Qiu went to see his aunt, who gave him sugar cane to eat. But after eating it, Qiu said that it had been poisoned.His aunt then gave him an apple, which Qiu accepted, and when he had eaten it said it had removed the poison.

Early on Tuesday morning, Qiu's uncle came to see Qiu, who accused his uncle of trying to kill him with magic. Qiu then attacked his uncle, and knifed him to death.

(People's Daily, December 13, 2001)