A woman from the UK has been handed a six-year prison sentence following her conviction in a blackmail case involving a £100,000 rape claim in Hong Kong.
Isabel Rose, hailing from Hackney in east London, was found guilty of blackmail and perverting the course of justice. District Court Judge Adriana Tse emphasized during the trial that it was evident Rose, aged 26, had requested £100,000 (HK$1.05 million) from the man she accused of rape.
Rose, aged 26, received a six-year prison term at the District Court in Hong Kong and was transferred to Tai Lam Correctional Institution, the oldest maximum security women’s prison in the region.
Despite her attorney’s plea for leniency citing Rose’s lack of prior convictions and her status as a foreigner in Hong Kong, Judge Tse dismissed the request. Rose had been restricted from working or leaving the area for two years leading up to her trial.
In 2024, the woman alleged that she was raped by a man in his residence in Mid-Levels, a well-to-do residential district in Hong Kong, during the early hours of February 1, 2024. The man, known as X in court, was initially arrested on rape suspicions. Shortly after, Rose was also arrested on blackmail allegations.
Subsequently, she was charged with demanding £100,000 (HK$1.05 million) from the man. During the trial held in March, she faced accusations of perverting the course of justice, with prosecutors asserting that she had filed a false rape report.
While the man, X, was never formally charged, the judge described him as a trustworthy witness, contrasting Rose as unreliable and deceitful, according to Hong Kong Free Press.
Judge Tse imposed a five-year starting sentence for blackmail and three years for perverting justice, with one year to be served consecutively, resulting in a total of six years behind bars.