Four key members of the banned Falun Gong cult were tried and sentenced in Beijing on Sunday.

the trial produced sufficient evidence of the Falun Gong crimes and the accused showed their remorse in the courtroom.

The four -- Li Chang, Wang Zhiwen, Ji Liewu and Yao Jie -- were sentenced to 18, 16, 12 and seven years of imprisonment respectively on charges of organizing and using the cult organization to undermine the implementation of law, causing deaths by organizing and using the cult organization, and illegally obtaining state secrets.

The Falun Gong cult had evil intentions and endangered society and the country as a whole.

Among the examples was the April 25 siege of the central leadership compound Zhongnanhai by over 10,000 Falun Gong practitioners from Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and elsewhere in the country.

This incident seriously disrupted the work of government departments and the daily routine of the general public, threatened social stability and had negative political consequences.

The accused employed various means to illegally obtain state secrets which were later made public by the accused.

Court investigations also found that behind the virtuous facade of the Falun Gong cult existed the greedy nature of its founder Li Hongzhi and other members of the cult.

It has been revealed that by publishing various materials, the cult raked in a total of over 42 million yuan (about five million U.S. dollars) in illegal profit.

To take advantage of its followers' wish to keep healthy, Li Hongzhi proclaimed that medicine is an ineffective weapon against illness, which he said is caused by their actions in former lives.

Many innocent people were fooled by Li and his lies. By the end of August, more than 1,400 people had committed suicide, inflicted self-injury or died as a result of refusing medical treatment.

The crimes committed by the cult were alarming. The four accused, following Li Hongzhi, jeopardized the safety of society and broke the law.

Wang Zuofu, a noted legal expert at the People's University of China, said that the judicial departments had been prudent in the trial and sentencing of the four cult members.

The range of punishment was appropriate, and the sentences based on law and fact, and embodied the principle of ruling the country by law, he said.

After learning of the sentences, people from all walks of life here said that the trial epresented another victory in the fight against the Falun Gong cult and offered a good opportunity to educate Falun Gong practitioners.

They believed that those who continue to practice Falun Gong will ultimately see the true nature of the cult, break from it and return to their normal lives.