A London woman who made a rape claim to police in Hong Kong is facing jail after being convicted of blackmail and perverting the course of public justice.
Isabel Rose, 25, from Hackney, travelled to Hong Kong in early 2024 to visit a British man she had previously met while travelling in Thailand.
She reported to police that she had been raped, which led to the man’s arrest, though he was later released without charge.
Prosecutors instead accused Rose of threatening to make a false rape report to extort up to £100,000 ($133,000) from the man.
After a trial at Wanchai District Court, the judge ruled the prosecution had proved both charges beyond reasonable doubt.
Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching said: “The demands were unwarranted. The alleged rape was false. The defendant knew that her allegation was false.”
Rose, who has been effectively trapped in Hong Kong on bail for the past two years, was remanded in custody and will be sentenced on July 22. Under Hong Kong law, both crimes can result in prison time.
Her lawyers explained the verdict as she wept in the dock at Wanchai District Court.
The prosecution's case focused on claims that she demanded money from the British man after accusing him of rape.
Prosecutors said Rose asked the man for £5,000 shortly after the alleged assault and later demanded £100,000, threatening to report him to police if he did not pay.
They argued the requests amounted to blackmail and that her rape report was false.
Rose denied the allegations, maintaining she had been raped and was seeking compensation, she said the man initially offered after the encounter.
Speaking to the BBC ahead of the verdict, Rose said: "I reported it to the police within 72 hours, and very quickly after the allegation was dropped completely and I was the one left facing charges of blackmail."
"It takes a lot to have to go through that story over and over again... I feel like I am a victim."
Following the verdict, Rose said: “I want to go home... I'm scared, I'm really scared.”
Rose told the BBC she had spent thousands of pounds on accommodation and legal fees, while her mother said the case had taken a severe toll on her mental health and would see her spend her 26th birthday in prison.
