A woman involved in the case against a student accused of drugging and sexually assaulting ten women testified in court that she requested compensation in the form of a handbag after the incident she alleges occurred.
Zhenhao Zou, a 27-year-old Chinese student residing in the UK, faces charges including 11 counts of rape, three counts of voyeurism, 12 counts related to possessing extreme pornographic material, and one count of false imprisonment.
In addition, he pleads not guilty to eight charges of possessing a controlled substance with the intent to distribute.
During her testimony at the Inner London Crown Court, the woman explained to the jury that her request for a handbag was related to being held against her will in Mr. Zou’s apartment, and not for any sexual encounters, which she claimed were non-consensual.
The jury was shown transcriptions of text messages exchanged between the woman and the defendant, presented in both Mandarin and English.
Speaking from behind a partition with the assistance of an interpreter, she confirmed that she texted Mr. Zou asking, “where is my bag?”, to which he responded, “I had too much to drink and did something wrong, can we discuss this later?”
In response, she stated, “Think about what you have done.”
Prosecutor Catherine Farrelly KC inquired about what Mr. Zou was compensating her for. She conveyed through the interpreter that he had compelled her to remain at his residence that night and consume a significant amount of alcohol.
She described her emotional state as unstable, adding, “He forced me and wouldn’t let me leave. Under extreme emotional distress, I proposed ‘either you let me go or give me money to stay,’ but I never consented to any sexual activities.”
The court also learned that she sent a message to Mr. Zou, who resides in Elephant and Castle in south London, threatening to expose him and revealing that she had contacted law enforcement.
She asserted that he should feel remorse for his actions towards her, the jury was informed.
Later, the woman shared a warning about Mr. Zou on Chinese social media platforms WeChat and Little Red Book, aiming to gather support and inform others about him.
Defending Mr. Zou, Mark Cotter KC questioned the woman about whether she had ever implied that he should give her money in exchange for sex, to which she firmly replied, “that is impossible,” emphasizing she never consented to sexual engagement.
He further probed whether there was a moment when she became more sober and agreed to sexual relations with Mr. Zou. She maintained, “From the beginning to the end, I never agreed to have sex with him.”
Mr. Cotter also inquired if she recalled Mr. Zou asking for permission to take photographs, to which she answered, “To my knowledge, he never asked me, and regardless of my state of inebriation, I would never consent to such a request.”
He suggested that she was free to exit the apartment at any time, to which she firmly disagreed, stating, “no, absolutely not.”
The trial is ongoing.
