Chinese police arrest six after woman beaten to death at Shandong McDonald’s

Police in China announced yesterday the arrests of six people who reportedly pled guilty to murdering a woman by bludgeoning her to death at a McDonald’s restaurant in the city of Zhaoyuan, Shandong province. Police said they believed the suspects, who included a man, his reportedly twelve-year-old son, and two daughters, along with two other women, were members of a cult known as Quannengshen, Chinese meaning “All-powerful spirit”.

Police said the victim, surname Wu, refused to give the man, surname Zhang, her telephone number when he solicited her for induction into the group, following which, Zhang began to bludgeon her with a mop before the other suspects joined in the assault. The Australian cited claims from uncensored websites saying the women who accompanied Zhang shouted “beat her to death” prior to attacking the victim themselves.

The son, who can’t be held criminally responsible in China due to his age, will be “dealt with separately” according to authorities. Following the incident, state broadcaster China Central Television reported discovery of religious material at a location connected to Quannengshen.

Video footage of the assault has been uploaded to the internet, along with photos of Wu motionless on the floor of the restaurant in a pool of blood. Though taken to hospital, Wu, who was reportedly the mother of a young son, died. The incident has drawn the criticism of netizens online, who highlighted the presence of dozens of other customers in the restaurant who stood by and filmed the assault, while doing nothing to stop the attack or assist the victim.