My Take | Brave victims help bring brutal rapist from Chinese mainland to justice
Zou Zhenhao, convicted of 10 attacks in Britain and China, may have carried out up to 50 more and police want women to come forward
The life jail term imposed last week on a PhD student who preyed on Chinese women in London and on the mainland offers, as one detective suggested, a small measure of comfort to his traumatised victims.
But the full extent of Zou Zhenhao’s crimes have still not been uncovered. The investigation by British police will – and must – continue.
Zou, 28, who studied at University College London, was convicted of raping 10 women, three in Britain and seven in China, between 2021 and 2023.
But the Metropolitan Police believe he may have attacked as many as 50 more. They appealed for others to come forward after his trial in March. Since then, 24 women have emerged, including some who live in China.
The case is deeply distressing. Zou befriended women on social media, using the name Pakho, and invited them back to his flat. He drugged them and raped them while they were stupefied, unable to resist.
Only two of the 10 victims in the case had been identified at the time of his trial. Another has since come forward. The remaining guilty verdicts were based on video evidence.