BEIJING (AP) - China has sentenced to life in prison a man who tried to derail passenger trains after officials refused to release detained followers of the Falun Gong meditation sect, a newspaper reported Monday.
Sect follower Dou Zhenyang phoned the mayor of northern Fushun city and the railway bureau to warn that ``something would happen to the trains if his demand wasn't met,'' the Beijing Morning Post said.
Dou and a second Falun Gong follower placed obstructions on railway tracks on the night of Jan. 19, the paper said. It did not identify the obstructions, but said the driver braked in time to prevent major damage.
A second attempt on Jan. 23 was also foiled when the engineer braked in time to avoid a derailment, the paper said.
The incidents caused $9,200 in damage to the two trains and closed the line for more than one hour, the report said.
A fellow plotter, Wang Hongjun, was given a sentence of 13 years, it said.
Dou and his wife, Wang Guoying, also printed illegal pamphlets promoting Falun Gong and distributed hundreds of them with the help of other ``hard-core'' sect followers, the report said. Police found pamphlets and printing equipment in the couple's apartment.
Officials at the Fushun Intermediate Court where the sentences were passed could not be reached for comment.
Led by its founder, former government clerk Li Hongzhi, the group attracted millions of followers during the 1990s with its mix of eastern mysticism and traditional Chinese slow motion exercises.
China banned Falun Gong in June 1999 as an evil cult, accusing it of killing some 1,600 followers by driving them insane or telling them to reject medical help. The ban followed a mass protest by members against alleged government persecution.
In a new pronouncement posted on Falun Gong's Website, Li calls for defiance, saying those who fear persecution are guilty of retaining ``attachments.''
``No matter what the situation, do not cooperate with the evil's demands, orders, or what it instigates,'' Li writes in an essay dated April 24.