Hong Kong court sentences British woman to six years over false rape report

A Hong Kong court sentenced British woman Isabel Rose, 26, to six years in prison after convicting her of blackmail and perverting the course of justice over a rape report that authorities found was untrue.

Court documents said Rose met the British man involved in the case in Thailand before meeting him again in Hong Kong in January 2024. The documents said they shared a bed for a time. In February 2024, she filed a rape complaint against the man, a banker in Hong Kong, which led to his arrest.

The man was later released without charge. Rose was then charged with blackmail and perverting the course of justice. A district court found her guilty in March.

Judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching handed down the six-year sentence on Wednesday. The judge said Rose had taken advantage of the man's kindness, naivety, friendship and romantic interest to blackmail him. Court documents said the man had transferred 5,000 pounds, about $6,700, to Rose before she began asking for increasing amounts of money.

Prosecutors said Rose sought to extort up to 100,000 pounds from the man and then filed a police report alleging rape. The court concluded that Rose used the romantic connection to manipulate him.

Hong Kong's security bureau said in an April letter to media that Rose's original rape claim had been investigated, but that investigators found evidence contradicting her account. Rose appeared calm in court as the sentence was delivered.