Hayden Kho eludes arrest by posting bail

Controversial former celebrity doctor Hayden Kho Jr. on Tuesday technically eluded arrest by posting bail worth P20,000 before the Pasig City court hearing the case filed against him by his ex-lover, actress Katrina Halili. Judge Rodolfo Bonifacio of the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 159 has issued an arrest warrant for Kho when the court found probable cause in case filed in connection with the sex scandal involving him and Halili. Halili accused Kho of violating Republic Act (RA) 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Children Act, for allegedly videotaping their sexual tryst and then uploading it on the Internet without her consent. Kho was accompanied by his counsels when he posted P20,000 bail. If found “guilty" by the court, he could suffer a jail sentence of six to 12 years and a fine of not less than P100,000. Last year, a team of investigators from the Department of Justice led by Senior State Prosecutor Emilie Fe delos Santos, head of the Task Force on Women and Children Protection, found that Kho’s acts of recording his sexual exploits with Halili and other women without their consent “bespoke of his betrayal of their trust and lack of respect for women." However, panel dismissed the complaints against Dr. Vicky Belo, Kho’s estranged girlfriend, and alleged co-conspirators Erick Johnston Chua, Mark Herbert Rosario and Princess Marie Velasco, for lack of evidence. Halili implicated the three in the case. Halili’s counsel, lawyer Raymund Palad, welcomes Kho’s move to post bail, and added that they are looking forward for the arraignment set on February 23. The lawyer said that by posting bail, Kho has “voluntarily surrendered" himself to the authorities before a warrant of arrest has been issued by the court. “If he is really sorry for what he did he should plead ‘guilty as charged’ to save the time of the Court as well as the parties. We will prosecute the criminal case until Hayden Jr is sent to jail for his crime," Palad said. Last November, the Professional Regulatory Commission has granted Halili’s petition and revoked Kho's medical license because of the video scandal. - GMANews.TV