Court sacks SMS extortionist
In a judicial first for the Philippines, an appellate court clerk has been sacked by the Supreme Court for sending an extortion note by mobile phone, court officials said on Friday.
Court of appeals clerk Elvira Apao was convicted on charges of grave misconduct for extorting a million pesos ($US18,315) from a litigant in a case being heard by the appelate court, Supreme Court officials said.
Apao will not serve jail time, but the highest court of the land forfeited her pension and she was barred for life from the civil service.
The woman was arrested in a police sting operation at a Manila restaurant last year, about two months after she sent a note through the short messaging service (SMS) of her mobile phone demanding money to help the litigant win his two year-old suit against a government corporation.
The Supreme Court ruling said the evidence was admitted under the rules for electronic evidence it had issued in 2001.
The rules state that "ephemeral electronic communications shall be proved by the testimony of a person who was a party to the same, or who has personal knowledge thereof."
