Isabel Rose, from Hackney, east London, stood trial at the District Court in Hong Kong before she was sent to Tai Lam Correctional Institution
A British woman has been sentenced to six years in prison after she was found guilty in a £100,000 rape-claim blackmail case in Hong Kong.
Isabel Rose, from Hackney, east London, was convicted of blackmail and perverting the course of public justice. District Court Judge Adriana Tse told the trial it was “crystal clear” that Rose, 26, had demanded £100,000 (HK$1.05 million) from the man she accused of rape.
The 26-year-old was sentenced to six years in prison at the District Court in Hong Kong. She was sent to Tai Lam Correctional Institution – Hong Kong’s oldest maximum security women’s prison.
Her lawyer pleaded for leniency based on the accused having no previous convictions and on her foreigner status in Hong Kong, but this was rejected by Judge Tse. Rose was unable to work or leave the region for two years before her trial.
The woman claimed in 2024 that she was raped by a man in his apartment in Mid-Levels, an affluent residential area in Hong Kong. She alleged the attack took place during the early hours of February 1, 2024.
The man, referred to as X during the trial, was arrested on suspicion of rape. Two days later, however, Rose was arrested on suspicion of blackmail.
She was subsequently charged with demanding a payment of £100,000 (HK$1.05 million) from the man.
During her trial in March, she was charged with perverting the course of justice, with the prosecution stating that she had filed a false rape report.
The man was never charged. X has been described by the judge as an “honest, credible and reliable witness”, while Rose has been labelled “dishonest, uncredible and unreliable”, according to Hong Kong Free Press.
Judge Tse handed down a starting sentence of five years for blackmail and three years for perverting justice. One year is to be served consecutively, resulting in a total of six years in prison.