British woman who reported Hong Kong rape convicted of blackmail

Hong Kong - A British woman faces jail in Hong Kong after being convicted on March 4 of blackmail and perverting justice for untruthfully reporting she had been raped by a banker in the city.

Isabel Rose, 25, met the British man involved in the case in Thailand before linking up with him again in Hong Kong in January 2024, according to court documents.

She filed a rape report in February that year, days after an encounter with the banker, who was subsequently arrested.

But he was reportedly released without charge, and instead Rose was charged with one count of blackmail and one of perverting the course of justice.

Prosecutors accused her of threatening to “make a false report to the police” to extort up to £100,000 (S$170,000) from the man.

District Court Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching said the prosecution had “proved both charges beyond all reasonable doubt”.

“The demands were unwarranted. The alleged rape was false. The defendant knew that her allegation was false,” she said.

Rose was remanded in custody pending sentencing on July 22. Under Hong Kong law, both crimes can result in prison time.

Rose burst into tears as the verdict came through.

“I want to go home... I’m scared, I’m really scared,” she said in the defendant’s dock. “Is it really happening?“

Rose and the man stayed in the same bed in a Hong Kong flat on Jan 31, 2024, according to the court documents.

On Feb 2, the man transferred £5,000 to her and said more cash was coming.

But Rose began asking for “escalating amounts of money”, and later filed a police report.

Judge Tse ruled they had “engaged in consensual intimate acts”, adding that a medical examination at the time “could not confirm or disprove whether sexual intercourse had taken place”.

Rose’s mother Aysha Bell told reporters after the verdict she was concerned for her daughter’s physical and mental health.

“She will now spend her 26th birthday in prison,” she said. AFP