Beautician who repeatedly doxxed, blackmailed ex-lover jailed for 4 years, 4 months

Li Yanlin, 46, uploaded four YouTube videos exposing married lover’s details and demanded HK$2.6 million

A beautician who doxxed and blackmailed a married finance director after having a brief affair with him has been sentenced to four years and four months in prison, with the Hong Kong judge condemning her exposure of the affair online and demand for HK$2.6 million (US$332,000) in payouts as “despicable”.

Deputy District Judge Ivy Chui Yee-mei on Thursday handed down the sentence to Li Yanlin, who was earlier found guilty of uploading four videos to YouTube exposing her former lover’s identity and personal information between May 2022 and March 2023.

The 46-year-old, originally from mainland China, was found to have exacted revenge on the man by posting allegations against him online and escalating her retaliation, causing the victim to live in fear.

“She was clearly after [the victim]’s money and put pressure on him over and over. Her aggravated actions caused him and his family great pressure,” Chui said.

Li denied the four counts of doxxing and two counts of blackmail levelled against her, but Chui accepted the victim’s testimony.

The court earlier heard that Li and the finance director, whose identity was concealed in the proceedings, had a brief affair in 2021 before the victim broke up with her early the following year.