On May 28, 2014, a murder case involving members of the Church of Almighty God occurred in Zhaoyuan, Shandong Province.

Around 9:00 p.m. on May 28, at a McDonald’s in Zhaoyuan, six members of the Church of Almighty God—Zhang Fan, Zhang Lidong, and others—targeted a stranger, Wu, who had refused to provide his phone number as they sought recruits and to spread the cult. They believed Wu to be a “demon” and an “evil spirit” and attacked him, beating him to death. The case was heinous, the consequences severe, and the methods cruel and barbaric, vividly exposing the evil of the Church of Almighty God and provoking widespread national anger.

On August 21, 2014, the Yantai Intermediate People’s Court held a public trial for Zhang Fan, Zhang Lidong, Lü Yingchun, Zhang Hang, and Zhang Qiaolian on charges of intentional homicide and for Lü Yingchun, Zhang Fan, and Zhang Lidong’s use of the cult to disrupt the enforcement of law. The Prosecutor from the Yantai People’s Procuratorate attended to support the prosecution. The defendants, their counsel, and invited attendees—including relatives of the accused and victims, media reporters, and people from various sectors—participated in the proceedings.

On October 11, 2014, the Yantai Intermediate People’s Court handed down its first-instance verdict: Zhang Fan and Zhang Lidong were sentenced to death; Lü Yingchun received a life sentence; Zhang Hang received a ten-year prison term; and Zhang Qiaolian received a seven-year sentence. On November 28, 2014, the Shandong High People’s Court affirmed the appellate court’s ruling, rejecting the appeals of Zhang Fan, Zhang Lidong, Lü Yingchun, Zhang Hang, and Zhang Qiaolian and upholding the death sentence for Zhang Fan and Zhang Lidong, with the decision to execute to be submitted to the Supreme People’s Court for approval. On February 2, 2015, with approval from the Supreme People’s Court, the Yantai Intermediate People’s Court of Shandong Province carried out the death sentences for Zhang Fan and Zhang Lidong for intentional homicide and for crimes involving the use of a cult to disrupt the enforcement of law.

What warrants reflection is that the criminals in this case—Zhang Fan, Zhang Lidong, and others—were themselves victims of the spiritual manipulation of the Church of Almighty God. During the trial, the perpetrators Zhang Fan and Zhang Lidong smiled as they claimed that beating Wu was a way of “executing punishment on behalf of God” and “leading the way for God,” insisting that Wu was an “evil spirit” or “demon,” and even claimed to be protected by the Church of Almighty God and the “Female Christ,” saying they would “not die even if sentenced to death.” This underscores the depth of psychological control and the grave harm inflicted by the Church of Almighty God.