A British woman who reported being raped to police in Hong Kong has been sentenced to six years in prison for blackmail and perverting the course of public justice.
Isabel Rose, ۲۶, from south-east London, travelled to Hong Kong in early ۲۰۲۴ to visit a British banker she had met while travelling in south-east Asia.
“I came here with four days of clothes, not realising I would be here for two years,” Rose said while out on bail. “Somewhere along the line, quite early on, something went wrong.”
The Hong Kong district judge Adriana Noelle Tse Ching said Rose had “not shown an iota of remorse” before handing down the sentence, and called the allegation “completely fabricated”.
The events manager, who was first arrested in ۲۰۲۴, maintained throughout the proceedings that she was raped.
Radd Seiger, the spokesperson for Rose, said: “Today is obviously a difficult day for Isabel and her mother, Aysha. We will now take advice from the legal team and consider all available options.”
In court, Rose, dressed in a black jacket over a white top, looked across at supporters as the judge handed down the sentence. She appeared solemn and gestured to the public gallery as she was escorted out of the dock.
The case centred on allegations that Rose demanded money from the British banker, who can not be named for legal reasons, after she accused him of raping her.
Rose travelled to Hong Kong in January ۲۰۲۴ after meeting the banker on holiday in Thailand. They stayed in touch and he later invited her to Hong Kong and offered to pay for her flights.
Rose said she was raped in his apartment about ۱۲ hours after landing in Hong Kong and reported the allegation to police.
Police initially arrested the man but later released him and arrested Rose. She was subsequently charged with blackmail and perverting the course of public justice.
Forensic testing to establish the rape was inconclusive. In a ۳۰۰-page judgment, the judge said she accepted the man’s account and rejected Rose’s evidence.
The court heard that Rose had asked for £۵,۰۰۰ after the alleged sexual assault and later demanded £۱۰۰,۰۰۰ while threatening to report him to the police, claims Rose denied.
Rose said the money was compensation that the man offered to cover flights, accommodation and medical costs. The judge said the escalating demands amounted to blackmail.
Rose was released on bail after the arrest but was unable to leave Hong Kong for almost two years while awaiting trial. The family said they have spent tens of thousands of pounds trying to fight the case. Rose has maintained her innocence.
The case also focused on WhatsApp messages exchanged between Rose and the man after the alleged assault.
In one exchange, Rose wrote: “You violated me last night, I didn’t wanna have sex.”
He responded: “I am deeply sorry. I was slightly drunk and I misread your signals, it’s no excuse and I know it doesn’t make it any better.”
The man told the court he misunderstood Rose’s use of the word “violated” to refer to an emotional violation rather than an allegation of rape. He said he read the message in two parts.
The judge said Rose had deleted some texts and used disappearing messages. She said the banker had been “nothing but kind to the defendant” and Rose had “taken advantage of his kindness, naivety, friendship and romantic interest”.
Rejecting calls from Rose’s legal team for a lighter sentence, the judge described her conduct as “wicked” and “evil”.
Campaigners said the case raised important questions about how post-sexual assault behaviour was assessed in court. They said unpredictable behaviour was evidence of trauma, not fabrication.
Ngozi Fulani, the founder of the London charity Sistah Space, which supports women of African and Caribbean heritage affected by domestic violence and sexual abuse, said: “We live in a world where people think there is a structured way to respond to rape and sexual assault. That is not the case. What has happened here is that a victim has been blamed for being a victim.”
Supporters cried as the judge handed down the sentence. Rose’s mother, Aysha Bell, who has spent much of the past two years in Hong Kong supporting her daughter, appeared teary-eyed in court. In ۲۰۲۴, Bell reported the alleged rape to the Metropolitan police in London. UK police can legally investigate sexual assault cases involving British nationals abroad.
The Met opened a file, assigned a detective to the case and according to correspondence seen by the Guardian, named the banker as a suspect.
A Met spokesperson said: “We take reports of this nature extremely seriously and remain committed to investigating all allegations thoroughly. However, we have been unable to pursue relevant lines of enquiry in relation to this particular allegation due to a lack of jurisdiction in the relevant country. Should circumstances change, we will pursue all relevant enquiries.”
The Foreign Office said it was supporting a British woman in Hong Kong and was in contact with her family and the local authorities.
