New Zealand rape: Man extradited from Singapore

As the victim regained consciousness, Zhang again held the knife to her neck and said: “If you [can’t] keep quiet and make [me] happy, I will go out and kill [the landlord].”

With no response, the homeowner assumed the victim simply had a nightmare and walked away.

Zhang then tied the victim’s hands with the nylon strap.

For the next one-and-a-half hours, Zhang sexually and physically assaulted her, repeatedly placing the knife against her neck and running it over her body, according to the agreed summary of facts.

During the assault, he sometimes asked for her consent despite her being gagged and held at knifepoint. He also licked and kissed the tape covering her mouth.

The assault eventually ended after Zhang placed the knife on the bed.

The woman moved her body over the weapon to prevent him from reaching it, before grabbing his genitals with all her strength and kicking him away with both legs.

The tape over her mouth had loosened, allowing her to scream.

Escaped through bedroom window

After hearing the scream at around 9.50pm, the other woman locked herself in her room and called a colleague who lived nearby for help.

NZ Herald reported that she called the victim repeatedly over the phone, at one point getting an answer but only hearing faint noises.

When her friend arrived, the pair called out and knocked on the victim’s bedroom door.

“Upon hearing another person’s voice, Mr Zhang removed the tape from [the victim’s] mouth and untied her hands,” court documents state.

He gathered his belongings and escaped through the bedroom window.

Police were called and later forced their way into the bedroom .The woman was found naked and “extremely confused and disoriented”, Stuff reported.

She was taken to hospital with injuries including deep bruising around her neck and wrists.

DNA recovered from her body was later matched to Zhang, while police also found the work boots he had left behind at the neighbouring property.

His vehicle was caught on CCTV driving around the block just minutes after police arrived.

Fled to China, later found in Singapore

Stuff reported that Zhang left New Zealand for China on April 4, 2024. China does not have an extradition treaty with New Zealand.

He later moved to Singapore in May 2025 for another construction job and was extradited to New Zealand in September that year.

After his extradition, Zhang initially denied attacking the woman.

According to the NZ Herald, he told police he had gone to the neighbouring construction site because he liked spending time there, where he drank beer and fell asleep.

He claimed he was startled awake by a noise and drove away groggily, leaving his boots behind.

When asked how his DNA had ended up on the victim, he suggested that he had either been framed or that she was a sex worker.

Could face preventive detention

Zhang is due to be sentenced in December after pleading guilty to the charges.

Justice Michael Arthur approved the prosecution’s request for two psychological reports that would be required if it decides to seek preventive detention.

Preventive detention is an indefinite sentence reserved for offenders considered to pose a serious ongoing risk. Rape usually carries a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.

Prosecutor Matthew Nathan said the Crown had not yet decided whether it would seek the sentence but wanted to keep the option open.

“At this point, I think an assessment of risk is in everyone’s interests,” he said.

*This article was produced with AI assistance.

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