Kho to face tough legal fight if he pleads insanity - experts

MANILA, Philippines - Hayden Kho already apologized to Katrina Halili. But the actress is not convinced and will still slap her erstwhile lover with a criminal case that would place the doctor in a tough legal fight, according to lawyers and government legal experts. Lawyers interviewed by GMANews.TV on Friday were one in saying that if Kho were to enter a plea of insanity to escape criminal liability, he would have a hard time proving in court that he was not in his right mind at the time when he was taking videos of himself having sex with his girlfriends, including Halili. "Perhaps they would think that the insanity plea is a viable defense. But that would be a risky proposition to take. He needs to prove that through psychiatric tests. However, plea of insanity is seldom appreciated by the courts," said lawyer Rommel Bagares. Treated by five psychiatrists On Friday, Kho’s camp said that the doctor was having some mental problems and was being treated by five psychiatrists and a psychologist. In an interview with GMA News, Kho said he had to own up to his responsibility as a professional thus he decided to suspend his medical practice. Dr. Minguita Padilla earlier said that her friend Dr. Vicki Bello helped Kho go through psychiatric and psychological therapy last December after he reportedly tried to commit suicide after his breakup with Belo. Kho’s counsel, Lorna Kapunan also claimed on Friday that her client was into drugs when he recorded his sexual acts with Halili. “These all happened when he was a drug user. These all happened before December when he was getting his treatment," said Kapunan. Article 12 of the Revised Penal Code lists circumstances by which a person could be exempt from criminal liability. Paragraph one of the said article exempts a person from such liability if he or she is “an imbecile or an insane person, unless (he or she) has acted during a lucid interval." Insane every time he takes videos? But another lawyer, Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares, said that while Kho could claim that he did acts of perversion, it might be hard for a court to be convinced that "perversion is tantamount to insanity." "If say, he has indeed 40 sex video recordings, then he would have to prove that he was insane every time he takes the videos," said Colmenares. Colmenares said that it might also be hard for Kho to prove his insanity especially if no one among his patients had ever complained that he was not in his right mind while he was practicing his profession. "An insane doctor? I don’t think it will be easy for him to convince the judge that he was suffering from insanity," he said. Lawyer Marlon Manuel agrees. "Mahirap i-prove ‘yan sa korte, lalo na ang temporary insanity [It’s hard to prove that in court, especially temporary insanity]," he said. Colmenares added: "He could plead insanity to exempt himself from criminal liability, but that could also make him lose his license. Either way he would be in a tight bind." Overnight insanity? Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago and Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez echoed the opinions of the lawyers. "Insanity is very easy to raise, but it is very difficult to prove. To prove insanity you have to prove that a person is so far removed from reality that he no longer has [a] clear grasp of reality as all the rest of the community sees it," the senator said. She said Kho appeared to be aware of the reality and even appeared in certain functions and posed for photographs and video footage the media. "He has never appeared in public that indicated other signs of insanity so he cannot claim that overnight he became insane. That defense of insanity is not going to prove useful to him at all. He’s going to get convicted if that is his only defense," Santiago said. “That kind of a defense or insanity will not hold water dito," Gonzalez said in an interview on dzXL radio on Friday, when asked about Kho’s possible defense of insanity. Halili had filed a criminal case against Kho for his alleged violation of Republic Act 9292 or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act. The law penalizes "any act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman who is his wife, former wife, or against a woman with whom the person has had a sexual or dating relationship." The acts include sexual and psychological violence. On Friday, Kho finally granted interview with media and apologized for what he did. "I deeply regret everything that happened because of my poor judgment," he said. "I know it’s too much to ask for forgiveness right now. Sana [I hope] someday, people will learn to condemn the sin and not the sinner," he said. Kho denied that he was behind the spread of the videos. On Friday night, Belo, during a press conference in Quezon City, also denied suspicion that she masterminded the spread of the videos, which have become best-sellers in the underground pornography markets in Metro Manila. - ARCS, GMANews.TV