Calls to remove man from Wexford town centre ‘making dreadful claims' about Asian retailers

Fearing that visitors to the county will be confronted by 'a mob in the middle of the town', Councillor Jim Codd has called upon Wexford County Council (WCC) to ensure anyone expressing racist sentiments is moved away from public areas.
'This man is making dreadful claims about shopkeepers in the area who are of an Asian background. They're rate payers, while this individual and the people he draws to him have time to stand around and hurl abuse all day,' said Cllr Codd at the June meeting of WCC. 'Could this be addressed prior to the Fleadh? This is not the Wexford we want on display.'
Referencing a story which appeared in the Wexford People last month, chief executive Eddie Taaffe said that, as far as he was aware, a complaint about the individual in question had been made to local gardaí.
In that story it was reported that Wexford gardaí confronted a man who has been displaying placards along the Main Street. Among the subjects broached on the signs were 'Chinese nail shops' which the man claimed are putting indigenous operations out of business and are breaching employment law.
And Cllr Codd reiterated his belief that such messaging had no place in Co Wexford.
'We're at a very dangerous impasse if an individual is allowed to whip up a mob in the middle of the town while law-abiding shopkeepers go about their business.'
Referencing WCC's policy on advertising in public places, the Aontú councillor said the council's energies would be better spent elsewhere.
'These are dangerous times, I know we're not An Garda Siochána but we have such energy to take down sandwich boards while ugly protests like this continue.'

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Sunday World

a day 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.

The Journal

2 days ago

• The Journal

Former Queen's University Belfast student jailed for life in the UK for raping 10 women

A CHINESE STUDENT who studied at Queen's University Belfast PhD, described as 'one of the most prolific predators' in the UK, has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 24 years. PhD student Zhenhao Zou, 28, drugged and raped 10 women in London and China. He 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. Sentencing Zou at Inner London Crown Court on Thursday, Judge Rosina Cottage told him he would serve 22 years and 227 days before he was eligible for parole, taking into account time spent on remand. The judge said the defendant is a 'very bright young man' who used a manipulative 'charming mask' to hide that he is a 'sexual predator'. She said that Zou 'planned and executed a campaign of rape', treating the women 'callously' and as 'sex toys' for his own pleasure, which had 'devastating and long-term effects'. The judge told the court that Zou has a 'sexual interest' in 'asserting power and control over women', adding that the victims were 'pieces in an elaborate game' for the defendant, who has 'no understanding of the meaning of consent'. Detective inspector Richard Mackenzie told reporters outside the court: 'The sheer scale of his offending, which spanned two countries, makes him one of the most prolific predators we have ever seen.' Elizabeth Cook / PA Elizabeth Cook / PA / 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. 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 University College London (UCL). Advertisement His crimes began to be uncovered in November 2023, when a woman went to police to allege she had been attacked by Zou. There was not enough evidence to bring a criminal charge over the claim, but when Zou's phone was seized, officers found disturbing videos of him raping unconscious women, and pipettes and sedating drugs were discovered in his flat. One of the identified women was raped after Zou pushed her to drink excessive amounts of alcohol and would not let her leave his flat in Elephant and Castle in May 2023. She said in her victim impact statement: '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.' A second identified 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: '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.' Scotland Yard said 24 women came forward 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. Commander Kevin Southworth, of the Metropolitan Police said: 'I hope the fact Zou can no longer harm others serves as a small amount of comfort to the women who have suffered immeasurably. 'I would also like to take this opportunity to stress that our investigation remains open and we continue to appeal to anyone who may think they have been a victim of Zou. 'Please come forward and speak with our team – we will treat you with empathy, kindness and respect.' Saira Pike, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said that Zou is a 'serial rapist and a danger to women'. She added: 'I'd like to take this opportunity to once again express my heartfelt thanks to the courageous women who came forward to report Zou's horrific crimes. 'They have been incredibly strong and brave – there is no doubt that their evidence helped us to secure his conviction, and the life sentence handed to him today.' Zou's case has chilling parallels with Reynhard Sinaga, 41, who was jailed for life in January 2020 at Manchester Crown Court after being found guilty of 159 counts of sexual offences against 48 different men. He also befriended his victims and invited them back to his flat, before drugging and sexually assaulting them. There was also the case of serial killer Stephen Port, who received a whole life term after raping and murdering four men with overdoses of the sedative drug GHB, and drugging and sexually assaulting seven others who survived.

Irish Independent

2 days ago

• Irish Independent

Former Queen's University Belfast student who drugged and raped 10 women to be sentenced today, is facing ‘very long' jail term

LATEST | 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 ©Press Association 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.