Man faces 100 raps for hacking ex's e-mail, Facebook accounts

MANILA, Philippines - A man has been charged with 100 counts of violating the e-commerce law, Republic Act 8792, for allegedly hacking into his former girlfriend’s e-mail and Facebook accounts to pressure her into having sex with him.

Joewell Santos Chan, 23, also faces charges of violating the anti-violence against women and children law (Republic Act 9262) and child pornography.

Chan was arrested by members of the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in an entrapment operation on Sept. 21 in Pasig City as he was dragging his ex-girlfriend, also 23, out of a coffee shop into his car. The CIDG said Chan has been charged before the Pasig regional trial court.

Police officers from the CIDG’s Anti-Transnational and Cyber Crime Division (ATCCD) recovered two bottles of liquor and Chan’s cell phone from his car.

His arrest stemmed from a complaint filed by his ex-girlfriend, who went to the ATCCD on July 11 to seek help. She said she and Chan had a relationship from June 2011 to November 2011.

The victim said that last May, she found that her e-mail and Facebook accounts had been hacked and their passwords changed by an unauthorized user. She said her Facebook account’s security code and Chan’s cell phone number matched.

She said she confronted Chan and he admitted hacking into her accounts. He said he would give the passwords if she met with him, and he brought her to a motel in Pasay, the victim said.

The victim said she demanded that he give her the passwords once they were in the motel, but he reportedly forced her to drink vodka before he gave the passwords. She said she passed out.

The victim said she later discovered that the passwords Chan gave her did not work, and she refused Chan’s later invitations for another meeting. It was then that Chan reportedly began sending her text messages, threatening to post videos and photos he took in the motel room and demanding sex in exchange for the passwords.

CIDG chief Director Samuel Pagdilao Jr. said they later learned that Chan reportedly opened another Facebook account, using the victim’s name and photos.

Investigators extracted from Chan’s cell phone several videos of him abusing his ex-girlfriend while she was sleeping in his car as well as a video featuring child pornography. They also found the text messages Chan sent his ex-girlfriend.

They also found that Chan had downloaded 81 images from her e-mail account without her permission.