ZHUHAI prosecutors announced Wednesday that a man is facing criminal charges for leading a cult, following a one-year investigation. Wu Zeheng and several suspected cult members are being indicted for rape, fraud, sale of harmful food and using a cult to sabotage law enforcement.

    Wu, born in 1967, was convicted of a sexual assault at an early age. He was put in detention in 1991 for fraud and rascality. In 2000, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison for illegal fundraising.

    Upon release from prison in 2010, Wu began to propagate the pseudo religion “Huazang Zongmen” as a lofty sect of Buddhism. Glorified with a fabricated educational background and life experience, Wu, a native of Jieyang City in Guangdong Province, eventually became a master with supernatural power in the eyes of his followers.

    He lured a growing number of believers who wished to study Buddhism, be cured of diseases or ward off ill fortune into his cult, according to police.

    “When we arrested Wu in his bedroom last July, he was with a young woman in pajamas,” said a police officer, who also seized love potions, luxurious liquors, and cash in his 200-square-meter apartment in Zhuhai.

    Several female followers believed having sex with Wu would give them supernatural powers, an excuse Wu used to seduce or coerce dozens of women into sex, including two pairs of sisters and several minors.

    A follower surnamed Wang said she had been raped frequently. She got pregnant three times and was forced to have abortions. Some of the raped followers became barren.

    Police said Wu had six children born in wedlock and at least another six born out of wedlock. Wu also amassed more than 6.9 million yuan (US$1.1 million) in illegal profits.

    Wu asked his followers to raise millions of yuan and opened an “imperial restaurant” in Shenzhen, where he said that the dishes, priced at 2,000 to 6,000 yuan, were cooked with precious ingredients. The food contained some banned herbs.(Xinhua)