The open trial began today for the six 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 open trial for the case of "Zhaoyuan Attack" in which five Almighty God members who beat a young woman to death at a McDonald's restaurant in the city of Zhaoyuan, back in May starts at the Intermediate People's Court of Yantai in east China's Shandong province on 8:00 am, on Thursday, August 21, 2014. [Photo: people.com.cn]

The trial will be held at the Intermediate People's Court of Yantai in Shandong. Five of the six suspects, including the father, Zhang Lidong, daughter, Zhang Fan and son, Zhang Hang, are facing charges of intentional homicide. The sixth suspect, a minor, 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.

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