23 more young women have come forward as victims in the UK PhD QJ incident!
The London Metropolitan Police recently stated that since last month, when Chinese PhD student Zhenhao Zou was convicted in the UK and China for offenses against 10 women, another 23 women have proactively contacted the police claiming they may also be victims. The police are concerned that the actual number of victims may far exceed expectations. Zhenhao Zou is 28 years old and pursued his PhD at University College London (UCL) from 2019 to 2024. Court documents reveal that he often met women through social media platforms such as Bumble, WeChat, and Xiaohongshu, luring them to his residences in London and China to commit offenses. Most of the victims are Chinese female students studying in London. Zou typically drugged the victims' drinks without their knowledge, causing them to become disoriented before assaulting them and recording the incidents.
During the trial, the prosecution played parts of the videos recorded by Zou, showing victims pleading with him to stop while unconscious or under the influence of drugs. These videos became key evidence against him. The police have seized 58 related videos but believe there are more victims yet to be identified.
Commander Kevin Southworth of the London Metropolitan Police stated that after making a public appeal, 23 women proactively contacted the police within a month, confirming their concerns about the scale of Zou's crimes. The police are conducting a complex investigation, which may face a second or even third trial. It is believed that the newly emerged victims, like the previous ones, are predominantly of Chinese descent, with incidents occurring in both London and China. They reside around the world, including North America, South America, and Europe. Two women who shared their experiences with BBC World Service reported being drugged and assaulted by Zou in China and London, respectively. One woke up after losing consciousness to find she had been filmed, while the other was assaulted while still conscious but unable to move. One woman who previously accused Zou expressed guilt for not speaking out sooner, saying, "If I had spoken out earlier, perhaps there wouldn’t be so many victims now."