Focus Taiwan
Date: 01/21/2020
By: Su Mu-chun and Ko Lin

Taipei, Jan. 21 (CNA) Ten executive members of a Taiwan-based religious cult, called "Zhonghua Ri Xing Yi Shan (中華日行一善學會)," were indicted Tuesday for involvement in "organized crimes" and the use of physical violence against several members resulting in the death of one in China and the blinding of another in Taiwan.

Based on evidence collected by police during a raid of the cult's premises in central Taiwan, 61-year-old Lin Hsin-yue (林欣月), head of the cult, and nine members of her staff were charged with breaching the Organized Crime Prevention Act, as well as causing bodily harm and bodily injury leading to death, according to the indictment released by the Taichung District Prosecutors Office.

The case stems from March last year, when a Taiwanese woman surnamed Fang (方) was allegedly beaten to death by a cult member at the cult's place of practice in China's Guangxi Province in a form of "exorcism," when she accompanied the cult leader on a visit there, the office said.

In an attempt to evade an investigation by Chinese public security authorities, Lin fled to Taiwan and hid in a mountainous area of Nantou County in central Taiwan, it said.    [FULL  STORY]