A British woman, Isabel Rose, 26, from Hackney, has been jailed for six years by a Hong Kong court after being convicted of blackmail and perverting the course of justice over a false rape allegation against a British banker. Rose had accused the man of raping her after travelling to Hong Kong in January 2024 to visit him, following an earlier meeting in Thailand; he was arrested and questioned but released without charge, after which Rose herself was arrested and charged. The case matters as an example of how digital communications, rather than testimony alone, became central to disproving a serious criminal allegation in court.

Judge Adriana Tse sentenced Rose to five years for blackmail and three years for perverting the course of justice, with one year served consecutively, after prosecutors said she fabricated the claim to try to extort £100,000 from the man. Central to the case were WhatsApp messages in which Rose alternated between accusing the man of assault and demanding money, telling him "send me the right amount you owe me" and later complaining he had paid only "10% of what I'm owed." He transferred £5,000 and attempted to send a further £5,000, but said he could not afford the full sum demanded. The judge described Rose's conduct as "cruel and evil" and her false police report as "vengeful and wicked," while Rose maintained throughout the trial that she had been raped.