5 cult members from the 'Zhaoyuan Attack' face trial

Five cult members face trial at the Intermediate People's Court of Yantai in east China's Shandong province on 8:00 am, on Thursday, August 21, 2014.

The open trial began today for the five Almighty God members of the same family who beat a young woman to death at a McDonald's restaurant in the city of Zhaoyuan, Shandong province, back in May, Chinanews.com reports.

The trial is held at the Intermediate People's Court of Yantai in Shandong. The five suspects, including the father, Zhang Lidong, daughter, Zhang Fan and son, Zhang Hang, are facing charges of intentional homicide. The sixth suspect, a minor, who also involved in the incident, will be dealt with separately.

On May 28, a woman surnamed Wu, 35, who refused to give her phone number to the cult group was beaten to death at a McDonald's restaurant.

According to the ministry, the "Almighty God" cult started in Henan province in the 1990s and spread to other parts of the country.

It was reported that the group promoted a philosophy based on a distorted reading of the Bible and it was banned as a cult by the government in 1995.