PETALING JAYA: A witness told the Tenom magistrates’ court that preacher Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew, also known as Ebit Lew, had sent her more than 375 lewd messages, even during Ramadan.
The prosecution’s ninth witness in Ebit’s sexual harassment trial said the messages had outraged her modesty, Sinar Harian reported.
Deputy public prosecutor Raya Zahida Zakaria then asked the witness to explain what she meant by “lewd words” in Ebit’s messages.
“What I meant was that he was trying to arouse me for the purpose of entertaining his sexual desires,” she was quoted as saying before magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani.
The witness was then asked to read aloud the messages from Ebit one by one and to explain what it meant based on her understanding.
“To me, these words would outrage a woman’s modesty as he is trying to get someone to satisfy his sexual desires. When he sent the messages, I told him, if he wanted to, he could (have sexual intercourse) with his wife.
“What I meant was that he should always be with his wife so that he would not need to seduce others,” she said, adding that her perception of Ebit’s character was different from that of him as seen on social media.
She cited his social media posts about his wife where he likened her to an angel, and said it gave her the impression that he really respected women.
However, she added, the preacher’s messages made it seem as though he viewed women as being meant to only fulfil his sexual needs.
Ebit, 38, faces 11 charges, including outraging the modesty of a woman in her 40s by sending obscene words and images to the victim’s phone number via the WhatsApp application between March and June 2021.
The charges under Section 509 of the Penal Code provide a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine or both if convicted.
