British woman Isabel Rose (26) was sentenced in Hong Kong to six years in prison for blackmail and obstruction of justice, after the court concluded that she had falsely reported rape.

Rose, who is from the London borough of Hackney, claimed she was raped by a British banker after she travelled to Hong Kong to visit him in January 2024. The man was arrested after she reported him to the police, but was later released without charge. Rose was subsequently arrested and criminal proceedings were opened against her.

Local media reported that Rose appeared before the Hong Kong District Court for sentencing today, after being found guilty in March. She denied all charges during the trial.

They met in Thailand

Local media reported that Rose appeared before the Hong Kong District Court for sentencing today, after being found guilty in March. She denied all charges during the trial.They met in Thailand.According to local media, Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching sentenced her to five years in prison for blackmail and three years for obstruction of justice, with one year of the second sentence to be served consecutively. This brought the total sentence to six years in prison.The prosecution claimed that Rose fabricated the rape allegation in order to extort £100,000 (about $134,000) from the man, whose identity has not been released. Rose denied the charges throughout the trial and insisted that she was raped.According to court documents, she arrived in Hong Kong on January 31, 2024, after meeting the man a month earlier while in Thailand. Key evidence for the prosecution was WhatsApp messages exchanged between the two in the hours and days following the alleged rape, which she claims took place on February 1 at his apartment.

What did the messages say?

In one message sent the next morning, Rose wrote: “Are you mad that I didn’t want to have sex?”, to which the man replied: “No, of course not. I was actually impressed by your restraint.”

Later that day, Rose wrote to him: “You hurt me last night, I didn’t want to have sex.”

He replied to her, “I’m really, really sorry. I was a little drunk and misinterpreted your signals. That’s no excuse and I know it doesn’t make anything better.”

In a later text exchange, Rose wrote: “You practically raped me.”

The man replied to her, “That’s not something I would do at all and I’m sick of this.”

They also corresponded about money

The two then began exchanging messages about money. According to a written statement of the verdict released in March, the man agreed to reimburse Rose for her travel and lodging expenses. In one message, Rose wrote: “Send me the full amount you owe me for everything. Think carefully about it. Think carefully.”

He transferred £5,000 to her that same day, and tried to send another £5,000. Rose then wrote to him: “You gave me 10 percent of what you owe me.”

In one of the later messages, the man wrote: “But I don’t have £100,000. There’s no way I can pay you that much.”

Man arrested and questioned, but later released

Rose reported the rape to the police on February 3. The man was arrested and questioned, but was later released without charge. Rose was arrested the very next day and later charged with blackmail and obstruction of justice.

The judge based her ruling partly on the messages they exchanged after their encounter, the South China Morning Post reported. When sentencing, the judge said the defendant had committed a “cruel and evil” crime by trying to extort money from the man.

“The defendant took advantage of his kindness, naivety, friendship and romantic interest,” the judge said.

BY INDEX HR