HKSAR v. ROSE ISABEL ANONIA BARBRA EUDORA

DCCC 733/2024

[2026] HKDC 298

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

CRIMINAL CASES NO 733 OF 2024

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REASONS FOR VERDICT

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1.  The Defendant faces 2 charges:

(1) Blackmail, contrary to section 23(1) and (3) of the Theft Ordinance, Cap 210 (Charge 1); and

(2) Doing an Act or a Series of Acts Tending and Intended to Pervert the Course of Public Justice, contrary to Common Law and punishable under section 101I(1) of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, Cap 221 (Charge 2).

Issues

2.  The Prosecution says that X is a banker working in Hong Kong. He and the Defendant met when they were both travelling in Thailand and maintained contact thereafter. X felt that he and the Defendant had romantic feelings towards each other. He invited the Defendant to visit Hong Kong and paid for her air-ticket. The Defendant arrived in Hong Kong on 31 January 2024. She stayed in X’s flat in Central and was given the key to the flat. X and the Defendant slept in the same bed. They took their clothes off and engaged in consensual intimate acts but there was no vaginal or anal intercourse. The following day, the Defendant suddenly alleged that X had “violated” her and raped her the previous night. On 3 February 2024, the Defendant started to demand for money from X, the amount she demanded went from £5,000 to £100,000. The Defendant threatened to go “to the police to report a crime” if X failed to pay (Charge 1). X only paid the initial £5,000. In the evening of 3 February 2024, the Defendant made a report to the police that she had been raped, sodomized and indecently assaulted by X. As a result, X was arrested on 4 February 2024. A medical examination was conducted on the Defendant in the evening of 3 February 2024. No injury was found in her vagina or anus to indicate the occurrence of recent vaginal or anal penetration. The medical findings alone could not confirm or disprove whether sexual intercourse had taken place.

3.  In relation to Charge 1, the Defendant denied that she had made any demand of £100,000 or any unwarranted demand with menaces. In respect of Charge 2, the Defendant says that her report to the police was true.

4.  Part of the Prosecution’s evidence was not in dispute (see Admitted Facts set out below). The case basically turns on the credibility of X and the Defendant.

Admitted Facts

5.  The facts admitted by the parties pursuant to section 65C of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, Cap 221 was set out in writing and produced as P7 and P10. The contents of P7 are as follows:

“Background

(1) At all material times, D and X were both British nationals. X was a banker and was seconded to work in Hong Kong for 6 months from late 2023.

(2) X first met D on or around 28 December 2023 when he was travelling in Thailand. X returned to Hong Kong on 1 January 2024.

The alleged blackmail incident

(3) D arrived in Hong Kong on 31 January 2024 at X’s invitation.

(4) D and X first met up in Central and X showed D to his flat which was Flat J, 11/F, Townplace Soho, 18 Caine Road, Central (“the Flat”) on the same day. X passed D the key card to the Flat so she could come and go as she pleased.

(5) They split up afterwards as X needed to work. They met up again between about 7 pm and 7:30 pm on the same day and went to the horse racing in Happy Valley. They then left Happy Valley and eventually returned to the Flat.

(6) X woke up at around 8:30 am the next day (i.e. 1 February 2024) for work and left D at the Flat alone. They continued texting each other on WhatsApp on that day.

(7) Later that day, D moved out of the Flat.

(8) X complied with D’s request to place her first aid kit, which she had left in the Flat, at the building’s reception counter for her to collect.

(9) X paid £5,000 (the First £5k) via his HSBC UK bank account to D on 2 February 2024.

(10) X paid £5,000 (the Second £5k) via his Barclays Bank account to D on 2 February 2024, but the transaction was delayed, and he subsequently cancelled the transfer. The transfer of the second £5k did not go through.

The alleged perverting act

(11) On 3 February 2024, D made a complaint to the Police that she was raped and buggered by X.

(12) D gave a witness statement to the Police on 4 February 2024 regarding the abovementioned rape and buggery incident. The said witness statement is produced as Prosecution Exhibit P6.

Arrest of D

(13) At 11:24 am on 6 February 2024: D was arrested by DPC22304 for blackmail.

WhatsApp messages

(14) X’s iPhone (with phone case) was seized by the Police and is produced as Prosecution Exhibit P1.

(15) On 4 February 2024, DPC 8785 took 33 photos of the WhatsApp messages sent between X and D from 31 January 2024 to 2 February 2024 as shown on Prosecution Exhibit P1. They are produced as Prosecution Exhibit P2. The Prosecution and the Defence agree that they have not been altered, edited, interfered with or tampered with during the process of development and/or reproduction.

(16) WhatsApp text messages sent between X and D from 28 December 2023 to 3 February 2024 were extracted by the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force (CSTCB) from Prosecution Exhibit P1 and were presented in an excel form. The DVD containing the soft copy is produced as Prosecution Exhibit P3. The hard copy of the same is produced as Prosecution Exhibit P3A.

(17) The photos that were sent between X and D on WhatsApp were also extracted by CSTCB from Prosecution Exhibit P1, a photo album for these photos is produced as Prosecution Exhibit P3B. The soft copies are stored in Prosecution Exhibit P3.

(18) The voice messages that were sent between X and D on WhatsApp were also extracted by CSTCB from Prosecution Exhibit P1. The accurate transcript for these voice messages is produced as Prosecution Exhibit P3C. The audio files are stored in Prosecution Exhibit P3.

CCTV at Townplace

(19) CCTV cameras were installed at the building entrance, the lift, and the corridor of 11th floor. The following CCTV footage obtained from these cameras are produced in a DVD as Prosecution Exhibit P4:-

(a) The file named “2024JAN31 2350-0010 GF-Panel2(2)” as Prosecution Exhibit P4A;

(b) The file named “2024JAN31 2350-0010 LIFT4(1)” as Prosecution Exhibit P4B;

(c) The file named “2024FEB01 0914-0920 GF GATE” as Prosecution Exhibit P4C;

(d) The file named “2024FEB01 1510-1520 11F-4” as Prosecution Exhibit P4D;

(e) The file named “2024FEB01 1510-1520 LOBBY 1” as Prosecution Exhibit P4E;

(f) The file named “2024FEB91 1748-1810 LOBBY 1” as Prosecution Exhibit P4F;

(g) The file named “2024FEB01 2143-2225 LOBBY 1” as Prosecution Exhibit P4G;

(20) The above video footage is all true and has not been altered, edited, interfered with or tampered with during the process of development and/or reproduction.

(21) An album of 10 screenshots of the CCTV footage is now produced as Prosecution Exhibit P5. These screenshots accurately reflect the images of the video footage.

Forensic medical examination report

(22) The forensic medical examination report of D is produced as Defence Exhibit D1.

Identity of D

(23) The identity of D is not in dispute.

Chain of Evidence

(24) All the exhibits had been kept in safe and proper custody since their seizure by the police, and they have never been unlawfully or improperly tampered with prior to submission to the court.

CRO

(25) D has no criminal record in Hong Kong.”

6.  The contents of P10 are as follows:

“The summary of the WhatsApp messages (including texts, photos and voice) as shown in Prosecution Exhibit P2 are presented by way of a table, which is produced as Prosecution Exhibit P11.

The Prosecution’s Viva Voce Evidence

7.  The Prosecution called 4 witnesses.

X

8.  In December 2023, X arranged to go to Thailand on holiday with his brother. When they were in Koh Samui, they decided to go to a “Full Moon Party”. This was a party on one of the beaches every full moon. Attendees had to go to the beaches where the Full Moon Parties were held by boat.

9.  X met the Defendant when he sat next to the Defendant on the boat after the Full Moon Party. They started chatting and listened to music together. X and the Defendant got along very well; they exchanged “Ig details” and kept in contact after the boat ride.

10.  In the early hours of the same day, X sent a message to the Defendant. They arranged to meet on a beach near X’s hotel. They initially communicated by Instagram but on 28 December 2023, they switched to using WhatsApp. The first WhatsApp message from the Defendant was on 28 December 2023.

11.  The Summary of WhatsApp messages between X and the Defendant (P11) contain some technical information as well as “System Messages” from WhatsApp. I will only refer to the actual messages between X and the Defendant. P11 shows that on 28 December 2023, X and the Defendant had the following exchanges (P3A):

12.  X and the Defendant met at the beach in the afternoon of 28 December 2023. Because the Defendant was very hungry, they found something to eat along the beach, sat down, had a date and kissed as they walked back from the beach. Originally, the Defendant was scheduled to leave Koh Samui. As a result of that date, the Defendant and X began to make plans together. The Defendant decided to extend her stay in Koh Samui, move to a hotel close to X and then meet up with X in Bangkok on New Year’s Eve. In the end, the Defendant could not meet X in Bangkok because she said she missed the boat from Koh Samui to the Mainland. They then talked about the Defendant visiting X in Hong Kong.

13.  Between the evening of 28 December 2023 and 5 January 2024, X and the Defendant had the following WhatsApp exchange (P3A):

14.  X returned to Hong Kong after Bangkok. He and the Defendant maintained contact. The date in Thailand went very well, he felt that there was a romantic connection between them and he was keen to pursue that.  The Defendant said that she missed her boat and was unable to go to Bangkok. X therefore invited the Defendant to come to Hong Kong.

15.  The Defendant said that she had just finished teaching English as a foreign language in Vietnam and was either unemployed or working part time; she did not have a lot of money and it would be a challenge for her to afford a trip to Hong Kong. X wanted to pursue a romantic relationship with the Defendant and did not want the cost of the trip to get in the way. Compared to his monthly salary, the cost of the Defendant’s flight to Hong Kong was not substantial.

16.  Between 10 January 2024 and 31 January 2024, X and the Defendant had the following WhatsApp exchanges:

17.  On 17 January 2024, the Defendant stated that she would “love a husband” like X [P3A(487)]. X was happy when he saw the message because to him, it confirmed the romantic component of their relationship. He also felt that the Defendant appreciated that he was going out of his way to make her happy and comfortable. In 26 January 2024, X booked the air tickets for the Defendant [P3A(870), P3B(26)]. The cost was about HK$4,000 to 5,000. However, X was mistaken about the Defendant’s name. The Defendant’s name on the ticket had to be  changed for her to board the flight. Initially, X asked the Defendant to amend her name on the ticket. However, that would require the Defendant to call the provider in Hong Kong and she was unable to do so. In the end, X called the provider and had to cancel the original tickets for a minimum refund and purchase another set of tickets for the Defendant on the same flight. The cost of the second set of air tickets was approximately the same as the first set of tickets.

18.  The Defendant arrived in Hong Kong in the afternoon of 31 January 2024 and X met up with her in Central. They had the following WhatsApp exchange prior to the meeting.

19.  After meeting up in Central, X showed the Defendant to his flat and gave her a key so that the Defendant could shower and freshen up after the flight. X went back to work once the Defendant had everything she needed. During this period, X and the Defendant had the following WhatsApp exchanges:

20.  X went back to his flat after he finished work and took her to the races in Happy Valley. X told the Defendant about the races prior to her arrival and both the Defendant and X were very excited to go. X paid for the Uber ride to Happy Valley. They chatted to each other, got to know each other better to grow their romantic connection. At the races, X and the Defendant each had 3 beers and food, which were also paid for by X. After the races, X and the Defendant took an Uber to X’s flat. The Defendant stated that she was still hungry, so X bought the Defendant some McDonalds on the way home.

21.  X agreed that he paid for many things for the Defendant. He explained that it was a way to show affection. Further, from his previous conversations with the Defendant, it was clear that he and the Defendant were in extremely different budgets. It was not a big thing for X to pay for the Defendant.

22.  According to the CCTV of the building, X and the Defendant arrived back at X’s flat at around 2355. They watched television as they ate together. The Defendant smoked a cigarette in the balcony. The Defendant asked X which side of the bed he preferred. X thought that the Defendant was happy to share a bed with him. They then both got into bed.

23.  X and the Defendant continued to chat in bed. They then started to kiss passionately and caress each other’s bodies. The Defendant took off her top. X was kissing her neck and back. As he was kissing her back, the Defendant said “Bite me”. X thought that this was an unusual address. He asked the Defendant whether he had misheard her and asked her to repeat what she said. The Defendant repeated “Bite me”. Although X was not into pain, he complied with the Defendant’s request. He bit the Defendant’s back and shoulder area. Then he continued to kiss along the Defendant’s body and removed her pants.  The Defendant said that she had not shaved but X said he did not mind. The Defendant helped X to take off her pants and X performed oral sex on her.

24.  After X performed oral sex on the Defendant, he asked if she would also perform oral sex on him. The Defendant refused and explained that she did not like to do that. X undressed and went to get a condom. Because the Defendant said that she did not want to have sex. X explained that he enjoyed giving pleasure to others and was happy to take things slowly with the Defendant. He took off the condom and got dressed again. X and the Defendant then spoke intimately about past relationships and general intimate topics before falling asleep. There was no vaginal or anal sex between X and the Defendant.

25.  On 2 January 2024, X woke up in the morning to go to work. The Defendant was woken up by X’s alarm clock but stayed in bed. They said “good morning” to each other. The Defendant then told X that she had a bad cough and had woken up in the middle of the night to drink a glass of water. X explained that he had heard the Defendant coughing in the night but had fallen asleep thereafter. According to the CCTV, X left the building at about 9:17 am that day. Whilst X was at work, X and the Defendant had the following WhatsApp exchanges: