2010-04-20 23:06

CHANGSHA,  -- Two men have been jailed in south China's Hunan Province after being convicted of belonging to and organizing activities of the banned Shijishen, or Real God, cult, prosecutors said Tuesday.

Chen Wenbin was sentenced to four years in jail and Li Juanlan to three years and six months, said an administrative director surnamed Xiao of the Beihu Procuratorate of Chenzhou City in China's Hunan Province.

Chen was the "life executive" responsible for all local cult activities. He managed the delivery of all promotional brochures, books and videos from Guangdong Province to Chenzhou City, where Li took over.

Li, chief steward of the cult since October 2008, was in charge of the distribution of the materials and collected 4,000 to 5,000 yuan per month from cult members, Xiao said.

The pair were convicted and sentenced at the People's Court of Beihu on April 15, said Xiao.

The Shijishen cult was founded in 1993 in northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.

It was listed as a cult by China's central government in 1995.