Student Predator: Surviving Zhenhao Zou

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1:13I remember it was early March this year. I remember the news just broke out. At six, detectives say a Chinese student guilty of multiple rapes may turn out to be one of the most prolific sexual predators ever seen in this country. It was shocking because of the scale of the case. A course in London heard how Jun Hao Zhou filmed many of his attacks and kept items belonging to his victims as trophies. And of course, it just immediately swept the entire Chinese community in the UK.

1:46Wanqing Zhang:Translator Lily Sun was part of this community. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. It was all over on Chinese social media, in Chinese.

2:00Wanqing Zhang:All the victims seemed to be Chinese women, who he drugged and then raped. And the potential number of the victims, it was really large. Some of the victims have never been identified, with the Metropolitan Police saying there may be as many as 50 other women. So more victims were still out there. More women raped by Chinese student Zhen Hao Zhou in the UK and in China. Lily wanted to help and there was one detail in the reporting that struck her. It mentioned that the first victim who reported to the police, she originally felt discouraged because of the poor translation between herself and the police officers.

2:46Wanqing Zhang:The police later apologized, admitting the translation hadn't been good enough. Lily knew this was something she could help with. I became a certified interpreter for law courts and police station just one month before the news broke out. So when reading that news article, I realized this is something I could do, and I'm qualified to do it. What she did next would lead to more women coming forward It was really surprising to me that with this one single post so many victims contacted me The first thing I felt was enormous disappointment I wasn't right about him I'm Wanqing Zhang, a reporter for the BBC's Global China Unit This is Student Predator, Surviving Zheng Hao Zhou, for the documentary for the BBC World Service.

3:46Wanqing Zhang:Days after Zheng Hao Zhou was convicted, and the police made a new call for victims to come forward, Lily posted on Chinese social media site Xiaohongshu. So then I made the post on Xiaohongshu saying that I could offer free translation and interpreting service for the victims who like to report to police. Lily pulls up the post to show me. So you could see the view number. Oh wow, it got like 38 ,000 views and almost 5 ,000 likes. And almost 600 comments as well. Yeah, and then around a week later, I started receiving DMs from actual victims. So that's also when I realised that the scale of the case probably was much larger than any of us could imagine.

4:37There were more than five women who Lily ended up working closely with. They wrote down their statements describing how and when it happened. So I translate their Chinese words into English and then help them email the Metropolitan Police in London. And usually I will cc the victim in the email thread. And I will tell the Metropolitan Police, you know, the victim is cc'd. If you want to directly talk to them, it's totally fine. That's how it works. Just to be clear, Lily wasn't working for the police. This was completely independent work in her spare time for free.

5:16Wanqing Zhang:Just out of curiosity, have they ever noticed that you were this middle person who helped submit all those emails? They probably could connect the dots. That's very interesting. And how was the process of helping others? How did you feel about that? There were moments where I had to stop because, you know, it was very hard to read and it could also emotionally affect me.

5:44Zhou had kept a creepy collection of souvenirs that appeared to be taken from his victims hair bands, earrings, a stripy sock and a MAC lipstick One of the victims told me that she read the news and saw there was a photo released by the police in the UK that showcased the trophies Zouzhenha collected from his victims. She noticed one of the items which might belong to her. So she realized that this is the person who probably conducted the crime against her. She told me she's in China and she hopes to report to the police in the UK. I think I still have her DM. I asked Lily if this woman would want to speak with me.

6:34Lily talks to her and she agrees.

6:40We are calling her Rachel and her words are being voiced by an actor. Like many girls, I knew Zoe from Tinder. We were from the same place and we lived close to each other. Rachel says she went on a date with Zoe when she was in her early 20s. She was living in Dongguan City in southern China. It happened when we met for the first time in October 2022. I decided to go out with him because he seemed so nice online, very authentic. I couldn't see anything wrong during our chats. Rachel tells one of her best friends she's going on this date. I thought we'd go to a bar for a drink. He drove to my house to pick me up and in the car I asked him where we were going.

7:28He said his place. I was shocked, but I couldn't say I wouldn't go because, firstly, I was already in his car. And secondly, if I said that, he'd think I was so unromantic that it would mess things up. Zoe's house was in a village called Zhupingsha, just outside of Dongguan. He talked about his family in the car. They had many homes in Dongguan. I remember he mentioned that. When Rachel arrived at this one, she noticed that it was fairly empty. He lived there alone. His family moved out of there a long time ago. In the living room, there was a sofa for guests and the tea table on the left. There was a large cabinet right in front of the sofa.

8:17He went there to get us drinks. It was green apple-flavoured whiskey. He poured it and mixed it with Sprite before bringing it to me. Then he said we could play some cards. I don't remember the game, but I had never played it before. Maybe because I had never played it, I kept losing. He told me he'd drink a whole glass or a half glass if he lost. But if I lost, I only needed to take a sip. So when I felt dizzy, I had only drunk about a third of a glass. Rachel thought she was having a bad reaction to this particular mix of drink. He said he'd help me to go upstairs for a rest, and we went to his bedroom.

9:08When I went upstairs, I could go by myself, but when I got to the bedroom and lay on the bed, I couldn't move. I couldn't. You want to raise your hand, but you can't. And you want to speak, but you can't. You don't have the strength to open your mouth. Even with all your strength, you can't say a normal sentence. We don't know exactly what Rachel had taken that day. But later, when the police eventually raided Zoe's apartment in London, they found a substance called butandial in his closet. Once it's in the body, it turns into a date rape drug. I look into this chemical and it's not a controlled substance in China.

9:54It can be bought cheaply online. Rachel says Zhou then left the room. And for a second, she hoped this was the end of it. He went out and I thought, I'm lucky. I'm right about him. He's a gentleman. I'd say to my friend, I'll be safe to go out with him, because he's a nice guy. Then, about one or two minutes later, he came back. I felt something was wrong, because he didn't turn on the light. He turned it off before going out. I thought maybe he wanted to tuck me in or bring me some water, but he didn't. Then Rachel says Zoe raped her. The first thing I felt was enormous disappointment. I wasn't right about him.

10:50Then with a lot of effort, I said something in a tiny voice. I said, I trusted you so much. He didn't hear it the first time, so I repeated it. He stopped for a while, and I was sure he'd heard what I said, but he ignored it. I think I passed out. I don't remember. After I woke up, I picked up my phone to call my friend. I didn't think about calling the police then. I just wanted to go home. Rachel calls a friend who knew about the date. She made the call at 1.23am on the 23rd of October, 2022. My friend answered the phone. I couldn't talk clearly. I said, I want to go home. Come and help me. Then he grabbed my phone away.

11:46He hung up. And then my friend called me back many times. He answered it. He said I was drunk and insane. He refused to reveal his address. and my friend was afraid that if she kept asking, he'd go to extremes and hurt me. And he repeatedly promised that he'd send me home the next day. I don't remember what happened afterwards. I think I slept again for a while. When I woke up, I was on the floor. The man treated me as a toy. I slept on the tiles. I think I woke up because of the cold Then I saw him sleeping under the quilt on the bed I felt my body was dirty So I took a shower I was in there a long time I remember I ran out of strength I just sat on the floor of the bathroom I stayed in there for a very long time Even though the water had gone cold I didn't move.

12:56By the time Rachel leaves Zoe's house, it's almost two in the afternoon. He took me out through the side door, and he looked around to make sure no neighbours were there. Then he drove me back. When I arrived, the first thing I did was to take a shower again. A long shower. She didn't call the police, afraid she had no evidence. She didn't talk about what happened, but it haunted her. I cried day in and day out, sitting in traffic, in my office and at home.

13:35Wanqing Zhang:Nearly three years after that nightmare, Rachel sees Dole's face on the news. He has been convicted in the UK of multiple rapes. I had mixed feelings. It brought back the same feeling of deep sadness I had before. but at the same time I was shocked because I thought I was the only victim. It turned out that he's a repeat offender. He didn't do that just to me and I felt guilty. I should have called the police back then. If I had, the girls after me wouldn't have been harmed. Then Rachel sees Lily's social media post.

14:21A translator willing to help victims report to the UK police She first contacted me on March 19th She told me that she's one of the victims and she asked for help and then four days later I finished the translation and sent the email with the statements as well as a few photos she provided me to the Metropolitan Police.

14:49Wanqing Zhang:Hours after sending the email, Lily and Rachel get a strange reply from the UK police. The email is addressed to Lily. I would like to clarify something. From what I can determine, it seems we may have already had contact with this person. The account which has been provided is extremely helpful and sounds very much identical to one we already have from this time period. I said I'd never reported the case to Chinese or British police and I had never submitted this email to the British police through any other channels. It does sound very strange. When I go back over the court documents, I spot something shocking.

15:32Zou filmed a lot of his rapes and one of the videos is dated just after midnight on the 24th of October 2022 That's a day after Rachel says she was raped The UK police have labelled this unidentified woman female D But could this woman be Rachel? Or worse, did Zou rape two women in less than 24 hours? You're listening to the documentary from the BBC World Service. I am Wan-Xing Zhang, a reporter for the BBC's Global China Unit.

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17:39I think hard before telling Rachel about my suspicions. But when I do, her reaction surprises me. I hope he made a video, even though it's a bad memory for me. Because it would be my weapon. This would be evidence that I was assaulted. I'm not lying. If I'm not the one in the video, I'd be really sad, because that means there's another victim. I hope it's me, not another girl. Rachel writes again to the UK police, asking them about what I've just told her. She gets an email back saying, We're still conducting inquiries based on the material that we have. I know it's frustrating that you have not heard anything further from us.

18:27However, we have to wait until we have permission from the Chinese authorities before we discuss anything about the case with you. She's left anxiously waiting. Meanwhile, on Chinese social media, more and more people are sharing their experiences of knowing or meeting Zhou. One girl says Zhou looked at women as if they were prey. Another guy said he boasted about his tactics with women. They also talk about how he showed off his wealth. He's a very, like the stereotype of the Chinese international student. He would wear those big brand clothes like Louis Vuitton and also sneakers with the logos on.

19:15Alice was a fellow international student when she met Zhou in London in late 2021. This is her voice, but Alice isn't her real name. They held a Halloween party in the club, Ministry of Sound. That's where I met him. And the party was mostly Chinese people. He was a little bit trying to show off. He kind of like mentioned that he have a watch from Rolex. Before that, we didn't even notice. How did he mention that? He was constantly checking the time. Alice says that Zhou and his friends were always going drinking and clubbing. They party a lot, really a lot, like every day. And it seems like they don't have anything to do or to care about.

20:07Alice tells me she isn't a big drinker. So when she went to Zhou's apartment for drinks one evening and began to feel dizzy, she suspected she was bugged. She suddenly felt sleepy and said she wanted to go home. But though insisted she lie down on his bed for a nap, he said going back home alone would be dangerous. The next thing she remembers is waking up to him removing her trousers. After a while, I woke up because a strong spotlight was on me. I think it was filming because, you know, when you're recording in the dark room, the flash is on all the time. And how did you react? He was trying to take off my pants and I stopped him and I tried to stand up and leave, leave the room.

20:58All of a sudden he pulled me back with like a full strength. I remember clearly that I have to hold the door frame with both of my hands because he was trying to pull me back. And then I started to scream and said I would call the police and all the neighbors are going to hear me. Alice managed to escape. Like so many women Zou attacked, she didn't report him at the time. To be honest, I didn't know how this worked. I didn't even know you could report such things that you can't prove what you said. I've heard this fear from almost every victim. Since Zou's conviction hit the news, Alice has now been to the police.

21:43But lack of evidence isn't the only thing stopping women from coming forward. Some victims I talked to mentioned that Tho Deng Ha actually comes from a family that is sort of powerful in the local region. Lily, the translator, says there are a lot of barriers. There are still a lot of very traditional values embedded in Chinese culture that jeopardized women's rights in these kind of cases. So even under my post, there used to be comments which were still shaming or blaming the victims for their lack of self-protection or whatever that is. The same thing happened when the first woman to report Zhou posted on Chinese social media trying to warn people about him.

22:33These are her words, but we are protecting her identity, so again it's an actor who is voicing them. I'd felt a responsibility to warn others.

22:44Wanqing Zhang:I said this guy drugs and rapes people. A lot of people saw my post. In the comments section, a lot of people were judging me, asking why I went drinking with him and why I went out with him so late. This was the woman who went to the UK police two years ago but later dropped her case because she didn't have a good translator. And there's also the issue of having to report a traumatic crime in a foreign language. I think it would be really challenging even for native speakers to revisit this kind of memory and to articulate what happened to them. So adding on the language barrier, it would be even harder for non-native speakers.

23:35It's a hot June day. I'm outside a court in London waiting for Zhen Hao Zhou's sentencing. Before the judge hands down the sentence, victim statements are going to be read out. So we have just got the big news.

23:49Wanqing Zhang:We learned that one of them is from female D. Remember, her video was dated just hours after Rachel says she left Zhou's house. So apparently she has now been identified. The prosecutor reads out the statement. Fragments keep replaying in my head. After regaining consciousness from the assault, I didn't fully grasp what had happened. At 4am that night, he called a car to send me back from his home to my residence. Exhausted, physically and mentally disorientated, I lay awake, gradually sensing something was terribly wrong. To this day, I remain gagged by shame. Even drafting this statement has taken endless delays.

24:39Merely describing the trauma drags me back to that night,

24:42Wanqing Zhang:trapped in the nightmare all over again. The statements are so powerful. I can see some of the jewels wiping away their tears. After months of speaking to those victims, I finally see him face to face. He just looks completely blank, remorseless. So we are outside of court during lunch break and we just heard the statement and it's not the Rachel who I've been talking to. It does not match the details she has given us. I just feel extremely shocked because the likelihood of someone raping two women in a row in the same city with the same strategy in less than one day is just crazy. But it seems that this is what happened.

25:29The judge gives Zoe a life sentence with a minimum term of 24 years behind bars. She describes him as a predator who used women as toys. The exact words Rachel said about him. I call Rachel, who is waiting anxiously for news, and I tell her there was another victim just hours after she left Zoe's house. Two victims within 24 hours? I should have called the police the day before. If I had, she might not have become a victim. I feel so guilty. I wish I had been braver. Now I can understand why the police said in the first reply to me that they had already contacted me. The date was so close. They thought she was me.

26:20I'm so sad to hear that on top of everything Rachel has been through, She now feels guilty too. The sense of guilt is something I've heard from almost every single victim I've spoken to. It's heartbreaking. Even Lily, the translator, feels she hasn't done enough. I think all victims are very brave that they are fighting for their lives. There's one person that I talk to. This is really hard. Okay, take your time. Do you need more tissues? No worries, I can take a moment. Take a few breaths. There's one girl who contacted me last year, and she asked me if I could help her. She might need interpreting assistance.

27:15So I replied to her, yes, you can contact me through WeChat, and this is my WeChat ID. but she didn't get back to me later. And this year, after the news broke out, she sent me another DM. And we were both surprised that we actually contacted each other before. And in her message, she said, I am actually a victim to the Dudenhaus case. I'm really sorry that I contacted you again for this reason.