JINAN, Nov. 28 -- The Shandong Higher People's Court on Friday upheld the death sentence of two Church of the Almighty God cult members who beat a woman to death in a McDonald's outlet in May.

The local higher court heard the appeal of five cult members on Nov. 21. It rejected all the appeals and supported the original judgements.

In October, Zhang Fan and Zhang Lidong were sentenced to death by the Yantai Intermediate People's Court in Shandong Province, with another accomplice, Lyu Yingchun, given a life sentence. The final two cult members, Zhang Hang and Zhang Qiaolian, were sentenced to prison terms of ten and seven years, respectively.

All four Zhangs are related.