Former Queen's University Belfast student who drugged and raped 10 women to be sentenced today, is facing ‘very long' jail term
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Engineering student Zhenhao Zou, 28, may have targeted dozens more victims in harrowing attacks that he filmed, police fearStudent once studied at Queens Belfast University and PSNI are conducting an investigation into any alleged crimes he may have committed
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A Chinese PhD student who could be one of the UK's worst sex offenders is due to be sentenced for drugging and raping 10 women in London and China.
Zhenhao Zou, 28, was convicted of the harrowing attacks involving two women who have been identified and another eight who have yet to be traced.
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Irish Daily Mirror
9 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Motorcyclist, 25, killed in horror two-vehicle crash as witness appeal issued
A motorcyclist died following an early morning road traffic collision in Co Armagh. The two-vehicle collision occurred in the Tandragee area of Craigavon shortly after 8am on Thursday. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) received and responded to a report of a collision involving a motorcycle and a Renault Scenic car at Mullahead Road at around 8.13am. The Northern Ireland Ambulance Service dispatched three emergency ambulance crews, one Rapid Response Paramedic and the Charity Air Ambulance with HEMS on board were also tasked to the incident. Despite the best efforts of the medical personnel, a 25-year-old male motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. Road closures were in place for some time but the Mullahead Road has since reopened, while a closure remains in place at Ballymore Road The PSNI have appealed to anyone who witnessed the incident to contact them. Inspector Cherith Adair said: 'We are appealing to anyone in the area at the time and has dash cam or mobile phone footage to get in touch via 101, and quote reference number 231 of 19/06/25, or report online at For the latest news and breaking news visit Get all the big headlines, pictures, analysis, opinion and video on the stories that matter to you. Follow us on Twitter @IrishMirror - the official Irish Mirror Twitter account - real news in real time. We're also on Facebook/irishmirror - your must-see news, features, videos and pictures throughout the day from the Irish Daily Mirror, Irish Sunday Mirror and
Sunday World
12 hours ago
- Sunday World
Former Queen's University Belfast student who raped 10 women jailed for at least 24 years
Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou (28) was handed a minimum term of 24 years Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou (28) was handed a minimum term of 24 years after being found guilty of attacking the women between 2019 and 2023. Zou kept a trophy box of women's belongings and filmed nine of the rapes on women as they lost consciousness. Three of the 10 victims have been identified, prosecutors say, but Metropolitan Police detectives fear he could have targeted dozens more women. Zhenhao Zou was warned he faces a long jail term (Metropolitan Police/PA) The court heard Zou offered to undergo chemical castration, as victims described being 'haunted' by his attacks. At Zou's sentencing hearing at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday, victim impact statements from the three identified women were read out. The court also heard that a pre-sentence report assessed that Zou "was a high risk of serious harm to the public, particularly lone females". The report also said he has minimal insight into his offending. It also said that Zou offered to be chemically castrated in the hope of receiving a lighter sentence and never to have sex again, but it added that this offer was not said in recognition of the harm he caused. The Metropolitan Police publicly appealed for potential victims to contact them after Zhenhao Zou was convicted in March (Metropolitan Police/PA) Among the victim impact statements read to the court was that of a woman who was raped after Zou pressured her to drink excessive amounts of alcohol and prevented her from leaving his flat in Elephant and Castle in May 2023. She wrote in her statement: 'I cannot determine how long this incident will affect me, but I know that the impact has deeply affected my personality, and it will likely persist long-term. I no longer believe in the inherent goodness of people, because I have never encountered such severe criminal behaviour before. 'I am constantly confused about why some people are capable of doing such terrible things. When I recall that night, I think I should have done more, perhaps I should have screamed and called the police, instead of just screaming, which didn't change much. 'Maybe I should have destroyed his belongings, but I didn't do any of that. This sense of guilt has continued to haunt me.' She added: 'I have lost faith in human beings, I have no trust in others. Before this incident, I was not aware that a human could do such evil things. When I meet with strangers, I get flashbacks of what he did.' The woman told of feeling 'fear' towards Zou, saying his family is 'very powerful' in China. A second woman, who is now living in China, was also raped by Zou in his student flat near Russell Square in October 2021 when she was unconscious, the court heard. She said in her statement: 'I experienced for the first time a loss of consciousness. I opened my eyes for a few seconds during the sexual assault in his room, he was thrusting violently against my body. News in 90 Seconds - June 19th 'I was completely powerless and could only use all my strength to tell him I was menstruating and demand he stop his actions. 'Although I lost consciousness just moments later, his face in that moment will clearly stay in my mind forever. As a result, I now experience severe physical and psychological distress.' The woman also told of feeling 'waves of nausea and disgust' after she was attacked. She added: 'I know words will never fully convey the depth of this wound. But one thing is certain, what happened that night is etched into my soul forever. His face, his expression – they will never leave me. I will never forgive him.' More than 20 women contacted the force following publicity in the media around Zou's trial to say they think they may have been attacked by him. Prosecutors say among them was a victim in China, known as Female D. In her statement, she wrote of being 'trapped in self blame', 'gagged by shame' and being 'haunted' by nightmares of what happened. A screengrab from body worn camera of the arrest of Zhenhao Zou (Metropolitan Police/PA) After a month-long trial, Zou, who was most recently living in Elephant and Castle, south-east London, was found guilty of raping three women in London and another seven in China between September 2019 and May 2023. He was convicted of 11 counts of rape, with two of the offences relating to one victim. Zou was also convicted of three counts of voyeurism, 10 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and three of possession of a controlled drug with intent to commit a sexual offence, namely butanediol. Prosecutors said Zou appeared to be 'a smart and charming young man', but was in fact 'a persistent sexual predator, a voyeur and a rapist'. He comes from a wealthy family, affording a Rolex, a wardrobe of designer clothes, cosmetic procedures such as a hair transplant and facial surgery, and thousands in monthly rent while living in London as an international engineering student. A picture used by Zou online – he would befriend women before luring them back to his flat, drugging and raping them (Metropolitan Police/PA) Zou, who also used the name Pakho online, befriended fellow Chinese students on WeChat and dating apps, before inviting them for drinks and drugging them at his flats in London or an unknown location in China. The student first moved to Belfast in 2017 to study mechanical engineering at Queen's University before heading to London in 2019 to do a master's degree and then a PhD at UCL. His crimes began to be uncovered in November 2023, when a woman went to police to allege that she had been attacked by Zou. There was not enough evidence to bring a criminal charge over her claim, but when Zou's phone was seized officers found disturbing videos of him raping unconscious women, and pipettes and sedating drugs in his flat.
RTÉ News
12 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Attacks on PSNI 'need to be taken seriously'
Figures revealed by the union that represents rank and file PSNI officers show nine police officers in Northern Ireland report being assaulted every day. The actual figure, however, is believed to be much higher. Some 78 PSNI officers were injured in rioting during the past week and a half. Two PSNI officers have spoken of their personal experience of being assaulted. Inspector Róisín Brown has been a police officer for around five years. She was attacked by a drunken 17-year-old male after he was removed from a concert at a west Belfast festival last August for being violent. The officer was alone at the gate of the Falls Park and tried to prevent him assaulting people outside when she became his target. "In a split second he hit me, really hard, just to the left of the cheekbone and knocked me unconscious," she recalls. "Luckly it wasn't fractured, but there was deep tissue damage to it, quite a lot of bruising and it had moved some of my teeth, so it was very sore for a long time afterwards and I had post-concussion syndrome which meant that my memory was affected. I was quite disorganised. "I was actually very worried after, thinking that there was something wrong with me and I went to my GP and he told my you've got post-concussion syndrome which is affecting basically how your brain functions. It was essentially a temporary brain injury." Watch: PSNI inspector describes attack on her last year The inspector was back on duty after three weeks, despite her GP warning that the concussion symptoms could last for a few weeks. "I knew that I wasn't ready to go back to work after three weeks but I went back anyway because, it probably sounds like a strange thing to say, but I felt guilty about leaving my colleagues out in the middle of what was serious, sustained disorder last summer. "I felt quite guilty about being off even though I was seriously injured and I know a lot of police officers who felt that way." The attacker was given 100 hours of community service and probation. They did not spend any time in jail. Inspector Brown supports calls for tougher sentences for those who attack members of the emergency services. "It needs to be taken seriously and there needs to be outcomes and consequences for attacking police officers when they're on duty." Tougher sentences needed, says sergeant Sergeant Mark Brown has been assaulted many times during his 28 years in the police service. "It now seems to be a daily occurrence for police officers, it's viewed as routine that officers are assaulted," he said. The most serious incident was in the custody suite at Strabane Police Station on Mother's Day last year. He and a female colleague went to a cell to intervene to prevent a man trying to harm himself. "My female colleague was punched to the face on one occasion so hard that it actually put her out of the cell," he explained. "He then started punching me to the head, between 14 and 15 times to the head, all over the head and I was kneed twice to the left side of the head which rendered me slightly dazed and confused and in that dazed confused state he calmly walked out of the cell and slammed the cell door, leaving me trapped inside." Sergeant Young sustained severe bruising to his head and face, which shocked his wife and young children when he got home. "When I went home that morning my wife immediately burst into tears, and my children couldn't understand what had happened to me, seeing my face black and blue," he said. Sergeant Young was back on duty after a week, despite advice from his GP that he should take a longer period of sick leave. His attacker was sentenced to 240 hours of community service, a sentence which is now being reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service after a request from the Police Federation which described it as unduly lenient. The officer also believes there needs to be greater deterrent in the form of tougher sentences for those who assault police or members of other frontline emergency services.
