Cult ‘emperor’ detained for rape, fraud
Print Edition
THE self-styled “emperor” of a cult has been detained by police in Guangdong Province on charges of fraud and rape.
As head of the Huazongfamen cult, which masqueraded as a Buddhist and charitable organization, the 47-year-old, surnamed Wu, exerted spiritual control over his many thousands of followers, New Express Daily reported yesterday.
Founded in 1990, the group has between 30,000 and 40,000 followers worldwide, with links in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Norway and China, the report said.
Though Wu had no known source of income, his acolytes’ contributions allowed him to live like an emperor, it said.
Over many years, Wu seduced or coerced numerous women to have sex with him, claiming that by doing so they would achieve higher levels of enlightenment, the report said.
If they became pregnant, Wu forced the women to have an abortion, Southcn.com cited a former acolyte as saying.
He convinced his lovers that they had been his imperial concubines in a former life, and a team of them, whom he called his “guardians,” cared for him around the clock, the woman said.
When not making love, Wu enjoyed smoking expensive cigarettes, drinking wine and gambling, the report said, adding that he also liked to treat his favorite disciples to expensive clothes, which he bought on trips to Macau.
Despite the many forced abortions, Wu had more than 10 sons and daughters, whose extravagant lifestyles were funded by his followers. When one of his sons went to study in the UK in 2012, Wu gave him 260,000 yuan (US$42,000).
Loyal disciples also paid for two apartments he used in Zhuhai, Guangdong. In a raid on one of Wu’s homes, police found several million yuan in cash, as well as Rolex watches and jade items, the report said.
As well as donations, Wu charged people thousands of yuan to join the cult. He also sold seals and calligraphy works to his followers at inflated prices, the report said.
He charged up to 5,000 per person to take part in online courses he ran, and fooled disciples into paying thousands of yuan for simple chicken dishes that he claimed were exquisite delicacies, it said.
Between 2000 and 2010, Wu served several prison sentences and was fined more than 2 million yuan, the report said.
Many of the people who followed Wu did so as they were convinced he had supernatural powers, it said.
The cult leader had spread the myth that as a boy he lived with a monk in the mountains and became enlightened.
In actual fact, he grew up as part of a peasant family and received only a basic primary school education.
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