PhD student accused of rape had Viagra and ‘white powder’ in flat
A Chinese PhD student accused of drugging and raping 10 victims kept a pack of Viagra pills inside a Louis Vuitton bag in his bedroom, a court heard.
Zhenhao Zou, 27, allegedly ‘stupefied’ his victims with drugs or alcohol before carrying out the assaults between 2019 and 2023.
He denies eleven charges of rape on ten alleged victims, twelve of possession of an extreme pornographic images, three counts of voyeurism, one of false imprisonment and eight counts of possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.
Seven of the rapes are said to have been committed in China, Inner London Crown Court has heard.
Jurors today heard details of the drugs and paraphernalia confiscated from Zou’s Elephant and Castle apartment following a raid on 25 January 2024.
Officers seized items including a ‘graduated dropper pipette’ and two brown bottles containing 500ml of clear liquid labelled ‘1,4 – Butanediol.’
They also found a ten Yuan note containing a white crystalline powder, 비아그라 구입처 9 Xanax tablets, a yellow Fendi box and an Ikea bag containing two vials and a bag of white powder.
Five days later the police returned to seize a blister pack of Viagra pills embossed with the initials ‘BYS’ from inside a Louis Vuitton bag hidden behind Zou’s bedroom door.
Zhenhao Zou, 27, allegedly ‘stupefied’ his victims with drugs or alcohol before carrying out the assaults between 2019 and 2023.
On the 16 February, they found three glass vials and two more plastic vials containing a white crystalline powder.
Both the plastic and glass vials were passed around the jury box for closer examination.
From a suitcase in Zou’s kitchen, police also seized a grip-sealed clear plastic bag containing white powder and loose green crystalline powder.
Jurors heard it was agreed that police seized a further 233 ml of MDMA, 920ml of ketamine hydrochloride, a litre of 1,4 – Butanediol and 90 Xanax tablets.
Jurors were allowed to pass round a plastic bag containing the seized Xanax tablets.
Toxicologist John Slaughter told the court that butanediol is converted into GHB in the body if swallowed.
Mr Slaughter added that high doses of GHB have the capability to lead to an ‘intoxicating, stupefying’ effect, rendering someone unconscious and causing loss of memory.
Earlier jurors heard part of an interview between police and an alleged victim who posted about an interaction she had with Zou on Chinese social media.
Pc Tijani said the alleged victim told officers she had gone out for drinks ‘with some man who encouraged her to drink more’ a few days before May 21, 2023, after attending a party at a friend’s house.
In a witness statement read out by the prosecution, the officer added: ‘However, after a while, she felt uncomfortable and wanted to come back, but he would not let her come back.’
Court artist drawing by Elizabeth Cook of Zou appearing at Inner London Crown Court
The police officer, whose first name was not recorded by the court, said the alleged victim explained ‘she was very intoxicated and the suspect kept giving her more alcohol during the night.’
In footage taken from a body camera played to the court, the alleged victim is heard telling officers during their visit to her London address: ‘He always let me drink more so that I feel the drink more. So I want to come back and he wouldn’t let me come back.
‘He didn’t let me back home.’
The woman, whose native language is Mandarin, added: ‘He raped me.’
Pc Tijani, who attended the call alongside Pc Digby and Pc Weller, said in her witness statement that the woman ‘appeared confused’ and was ‘difficult to understand due to the language barrier.’
The police officers asked the alleged victim whether she had been drinking at the time of their visit to her address after there was confusion about her account.
Inner London Crown Court (pictured), located near the accused’s flat Elephant and Castle, 비아그라 효과 south London
In a witness statement read out to jurors, Pc Emily Nice said the alleged victim subsequently disclosed to police that a ‘girl had approached her and said she had experienced a similar incident.’
Several statements from Detective Constable Emily Nice were read to jurors by prosecutor Corinne Bramwell.
Detective Constable Nice referred to an interview that took place between her and 비아그라 구입처 the complainant on the 16 February in which a third police officer acted as in interpreter.
She told the victim that she had a ‘duty of care’ to ‘let her know about the existence’ of images found on Zou’s phone of her.
‘Photos of what we believed to be her, photos that suggested she has been sexually assaulted. (The complainant) expressed concerns that the images may have been posted elsewhere,’ she said.
‘It was explained to the victim that we are unable to say whether this was the case, we are currently not aware of them being posted anywhere.
‘(The complainant) was also concerned that although not in possession of his device, he may have backed up the images elsewhere and still have access to them.
‘We assured her there was no way he currently has these images in her possession.’
The prosecutor 비아그라 복용량 relayed a phone interview between the police officer and the complainant on 11 March.
She told police she had ‘posted on WeChat as well as other Chinese social media sites’, including the platform ‘Little Red Book’.
Asked what it was she posted, she said: ‘Let me think, something like in London there is a man getting people drunk, something like that.’
She added that she posted ‘one picture’ of Zou but ‘covered his face with a sticker or something like that.’
She said she posted the warning on a ‘London group for second hand stuff’.
Zou denies 11 counts of rape as well as three counts of voyeurism, 12 of possession of an extreme pornographic image, one of false imprisonment and eight of possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply.
He will argue that the sexual interactions were consensual, that drugs and alcohol were consumed by the women voluntarily, and that some of the footage captured involved role playing, jurors were told.
The trial continues.
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