Brit who reported rape in Hong Kong faces jail

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, east London, flew to Hong Kong in early 2024 to visit a man she had previously met while travelling in Thailand.

After telling police she had been assaulted, the man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was arrested and later released without charge.

After a trial, the judge said the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Rose was guilty of both charges.

Rose, who has been effectively trapped in Hong Kong while on bail for the last two years has been remanded in custody until a sentencing hearing on 27 July.

The judge said that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Rose was guilty of both charges.

Rose's legal team explained the verdict to her as she sat crying in the dock of Wanchai district court.

The case against her centred on allegations that Rose demanded money from the man - a British national - after accusing him of rape.

The prosecution claimed Rose asked the man for £5,000 shortly after the alleged assault and later demanded £100,000 while threatening to go to the police to report a crime.

They argued the payments amounted to blackmail and that her report of rape to the police was false.

Rose maintained that she had been raped and sought compensation that she claimed was first offered by the man following the alleged sexual assault.

Speaking ahead of the verdict, Rose told the BBC. "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," she said.

Rose told the BBC she had incurred thousands of pounds on accommodation and legal costs fighting the case.

"She got here at age 23 and was in the country for 12 hours she when she made her reports... she will now spend her 26th birthday in prison," Rose's mother Aysha Bell said.

"We are not just talking about physical issues we are talking about mental health here," Ms Bell added.

Ngozi Fulani from the charity Sistah Space said: "Today's verdict raises serious and urgent questions about the treatment of survivors of sexual violence who report crimes in foreign jurisdictions, and about the adequacy of consular support provided to British citizens in these circumstances."

The London based charity, - which supports women of African and Caribbean heritage affected by domestic and sexual abuse - is calling for the government to do more to support Rose, diplomatically, financially and legally.

The Hong Kong police declined to comment on the case.

The UK consulate in Hong Kong said it would not comment on details of individual cases but said it provided consular assistance to British nationals abroad.

Hong Kong is part of China but operates its own legal system under the "one country, two systems" model agreed ahead of Britain's 1997 handover of the territory.

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