SHENYANG - Two core members of a cult were sentenced to seven and four years in prison on Wednesday by a court in northeast China's Liaoning Province.

The court found the two people, Zhang Shuzhi and Geng Yuqin, guilty of organizing and using the cult to damage law enforcement. Zhang received seven years in prison and Geng received four years in prison.

The court upheld evidence that Zhang and Geng actively recruited new members for the Church of the Almighty God cult, claiming that only the cult could save them.

The 44-year-old Zhang and 63-year-old Geng were arrested last July. The police found memory cards and books advocating the cult's claims among their belongings.

In October, a court in Shandong Province sentenced two members to death for killing a woman who refused to give her phone number to them.

The woman was beaten to death at a McDonald's restaurant, which stirred national fury against the cult on social media.