A Vietnamese asylum seeker has denied raping a woman during a violent masked robbery

Cambridge Newspapers:

Twenty-year-old Van Vu, of no fixed address, is one of three men alleged to have burst into a flat in Saffron Walden, armed with knives and a handgun and wearing masks from the horror film Scream.

Two 24-year-old women were sexually assaulted in the attack on February 27 last year, Chelmsford Crown Court has been told.

The jury heard the men also stole £1,000 in cash and two mobile phones. But Van Vu denies rape and aggravated burglary.

Hung Nguyen, 24, who lives in Mare Street, Hackney, East London, has admitted rape and aggravated burglary, and 22-year-old Hoang Le, 22, of Welshpool House in Hackney, has pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary and indecent assault.

Vu, giving evidence through a Vietnamese interpreter, said he had come to Britain with Nguyen, illegally stowed away in the back of a lorry. When arrested, they claimed asylum.

He said he had gone on a car trip to Saffron Walden on the day of the alleged incident and had been given the mask to wear as a prank.

He claims he knocked on the door of the flat and the women did not appear to be scared.

He said he watched television with the women before having consensual sex with one of them.

Vu also denies claims the women were tied up using sticky tape.

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