NBI needs US court order to trace sex video uploader

MANILA, Philippines – A US-based web-hosting site has urged the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to secure a US court order to allow the firm to reveal who uploaded the controversial sex videos of cosmetic surgeon Hayden Kho on the Internet.

Palmer Mallari of the NBI’s Anti-Fraud and Computer Crimes Division (AFCCD) said the request for a “system log” to identify the culprit would delay the results of their investigation on the case.

Mallari said it would take almost three months for the NBI to secure a court order from the United States to allow the web-hosting firm to open its “system log” and trace the source of the racy video.

Even though the NBI could secure a US court order, Palmer said the delay could affect the resolution of the case.

Palmer added the NBI is seeking assistance from the Department of Justice to come up with an alternative legal measure to obtain the system log.

According to Mallari, they have already identified the website that initially showed the sex video.

The racy video showed Kho in intimate moments with actress-model Katrina Halili, who had claimed it was taken without her knowledge and consent.

Kho admitted taking the video but denied uploading it to the Internet.

Both Kho and Halili saw each other for the first time during the preliminary investigation yesterday, almost a month after the scandal broke out.

Halili filed a complaint against her former lover on violation of section 5 (b) of Republic Act 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act.

Kho showed up during the preliminary investigation at the Department of Justice (DOJ) to submit his counter-affidavit.

Kho’s legal counsel, Lorna Kapunan requested that the affidavit should not be released to Halili or to the public pending submission of counter-affidavits of other respondents and testimonies of other witnesses set for next hearing on June 25.

One of the other respondents, Kho’s former girlfriend and popular cosmetic surgeon Vicki Belo was not able to attend the hearing that started at 2 p.m.

Belo though came in later in the afternoon to submit her counter-affidavit.

Belo’s lawyer Adel Tamano also pleaded not to release the contents of the counter-affidavit.

Tamano said they have two witnesses to disprove the allegations that Belo was primarily responsible for leaking the sex video to the public.

The three other respondents, Eric Johnston Chua, Dr. Mark Herbert “Bistek” Rosario and girlfriend Princess Velasco, did not appear before the DOJ.

They were accused of being accomplices in uploading the video to the Internet.

The three sent their lawyers during the hearing but failed to submit their respective counter-affidavits.

The DOJ panel allowed the three to submit their counter-affidavits in the next hearing.

Mallari, on the other hand, said they would force the appearance of Velasco before the NBI investigators.

Mallari said Chua mentioned Velasco in his sworn statement as among the four people who were present when the videos were taken from Kho’s laptop.

Chua had claimed Belo, Rosario and Velasco were present when he opened up the laptop computer to delete the video.

Belo had claimed requesting Chua to delete the sex scenes she had with Kho that were stored at her former boyfriend’s laptop computer.

It was then they discovered the laptop had stored other racy videos showing Kho’s supposed sex escapades with other women, including Halili.

Mallari said they are waiting for Velasco to appear at the NBI to give her statement.

The NBI’s investigation into the proliferation of the controversial video entered its second phase after the NBI recommended to the DOJ the filing of a sexual violence charge against Kho.

The outcome of the investigation on the upload would be independent from the initial filing of a case against Kho, the NBI said.

Mallari, however, admitted they still needed the system log of the US based web host to determine the Internet Protocol (IP) address and the domain registration of the person or firm that uploaded the video.

“The information being requested by the NBI from the US-based web, which is knowing the IP address, would identify the person responsible for the initial upload,” he said.

Mallari explained the IP address is similar to a “fingerprint” of web sites.

Complete success

Meanwhile, the Belo Medical Group said there have been no reports of any complaints from any parties after Kho performed liposuction surgery on Halili in 2007.

 “Dr. Hayden Kho is a graduate of the University of Sto. Tomas College of Medicine and Surgery and has performed over 300 liposuction procedures at the time he did Katrina Halili. As evidenced by numerous posters, billboards, TV appearances and video and photographic materials, the results of Katrina’s liposuction were more than satisfactory. There were no reports of any complaints from any parties after the procedure was completed. Based on every possible criteria, the liposuction performed on her may not be termed as anything but a complete success,” BMG said in a statement.

BMG was reacting to a complaint filed by Halili, who wants the Belo clinics closed and the company’s license nullified for allegedly allowing an unqualified doctor to practice surgery. – With Edu Punay