Crime08 July, 20262 min read
German Prosecutors Say Telegram Network Used Codes to Drug and Rape Chinese Women
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Prosecutors say Telegram chats used coded language to brag about raping women and drugging them. Victims referred to as 'cars' and sedatives as 'fuel' to conceal sexual assaults.
Telegram code words
Prosecutors in Germany said members of Telegram group chats called themselves the “German driving school for experts,” but used the platform to brag about rapes and share tips about how to drug women. Court documents described a coded lexicon in which women were referred to as “cars,” sedatives as “fuel,” and rape as “driving,” with victims also called “dead pigs.”
The investigation involved posts from roughly two dozen Telegram group chats and authorities believe the network targeted mostly Chinese women in Germany. Frankfurt chief prosecutor Dominik Mies told The Associated Press that “The perpetrators were characterized by a particular ruthlessness, an objectification of the victims, and the perfidious planning of their crimes,” as the case moved through convictions and an ongoing trial in Berlin.
Convictions and sentencing
The Associated Press reported that the investigation had already led to the convictions of three alleged inner circle members on rape and other charges, and that a fourth was convicted Wednesday in Berlin. The Times of India said Dapeng Z. was later sentenced to 14 years in prison for aggravated rape, attempted murder and other offences, and that he has appealed.
The Times of India also reported that on Wednesday, Zhiting S., a 32-year-old trained medic, was convicted in Berlin of being an accessory to rape and other charges and sentenced to five years in prison, with his defence team saying it would appeal. In the same case, Judge Markus Koppenleitner told a Munich hearing, “Pelicot is not an isolated case,” as the German prosecutions drew comparisons to Gisèle Pelicot’s French trial.
Support, censorship, and next steps
Under German privacy laws, prosecutors said they were limited in what they could say outside the courtroom, and in the ongoing case in Berlin members of the public were forced to leave the courtroom during parts of the trial. Fu Xiao, who traveled roughly 500 kilometers to Berlin last week to attend the trial, said, “Women aren’t seen as people,” describing anger at groups that “hate women” and “have no respect.”
In China, state media covered the cases, but wider discussion on Chinese-language social media like Rednote was partially censored, with certain tags more likely to be deleted or banned. The Associated Press said posts using less direct language survived the censors, including ones that refer to “date rape” or the euphemistic “students studying abroad in Germany,” while Telegram’s founder was arrested in Paris in 2024 over alleged platform misuse.