Christian crackdown: China has vowed to take action against the cult's leaders

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China has already sentenced dozens of followers of Quannengshen, or the Church of Almighty God, since the murder of a woman at a fastfood restaurant by suspected members of the group in 2014 sparked a national outcry.

In the latest case, an unspecified number of members of the group have been on trial in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang since July 31, state news agency Xinhua said late on Sunday.

The report said, citing local police: ”Heilongjiang police arrested the leader and some key members of the cult branch in northeast China in June 2017.”

It provided no other details of the case and it was not possible to reach a representative of the group in China for comment.