PETALING JAYA: The ninth witness in Islamic preacher Ebit Lew’s sexual harassment trial told the court today that he exposed his genitals to her during several video calls.
In her testimony, the woman said Lew first exposed himself during a call on March 29, 2021. He later repeated the act in calls made during Ramadan in April and May of the same year, Utusan Malaysia reported.
“He first exposed himself on March 29. I managed to take a screenshot to show my husband, who initially did not believe me when I told him of it.
“After a few days, I managed to convince my husband that it was Lew because he wore the same maroon pelikat in a photo he took in Africa,” she was quoted as saying when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Nor Azizah Mohamad at the magistrates’ court.
“I wanted to report him to the authorities but my husband stopped me, saying we are ‘nobodies’. Lew later apologised to me, but started texting me again on WhatsApp after a few weeks.”
According to the witness, Lew again exposed himself during video calls with her in April and May. He also scolded her in a WhatsApp message when she refused to send him a picture of herself, she said.
Previously, the witness told the court that she first contacted Lew on Instagram. He later asked for her phone number and contacted her via WhatsApp.
She said Lew told her his wife was unable to meet his sexual desires.
The witness said she advised Lew against such conduct, but it went unheeded.
She also said she blocked his phone number in April because she could not stand the harassment she was receiving on WhatsApp and Instagram.
She said that Lew had called her “cute” and “manja”, and while told her that he missed her when he was in Egypt.
The witness said she responded by telling Lew that she was married with one child.
“Lew then became angry, and asked me why I was rejecting his advances. He said that he had many houses and I could pick the one I wanted.
“Lew then said he wanted me to be with him, and that my husband could take his wife in exchange. I said ‘no’, and that I did not need anything from him. He made the swap offer in a WhatsApp message,” she said.
The witness said she blocked his number for a second time in July 2021 after he persisted in calling her.
Lew, 38, faces 11 charges, including outraging the modesty of a woman by sending obscene messages and images to her phone via WhatsApp between March and June 2021.
The charges under Section 509 of the Penal Code provide for a prison sentence of up to five years, a fine, or both, if convicted.
