Kuala Lumpur: A woman told the Magistrate’s Court in Tenom yesterday that she initially intended to file a police report against Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew, or Ebit Lew, over alleged sexual harassment in April 2021 but feared the public would not believe her.
However, the woman in her 40s, who is the ninth prosecution witness and complainant in the case, said she decided to lodge a report in August of the same year with assistance from a non-governmental organisation, as reported by Harian Metro.
She made the decision after news of sexual harassment allegations involving a prominent preacher, linking Ebit Lew, surfaced in July.
“I was truly influenced by him when I gave the pictures without consent, and I filed the report not for my own benefit,” she said during re-examination by Deputy Public Prosecutor Nor Azizah Mohamad before Magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani.
According to the woman, she did not retrieve the pictures she sent, believing that Ebit Lew had not kept them.
The witness also said she initially replied to Ebit Lew’s messages in a playful tone because she thought he was a good preacher and religious figure.
Ebit Lew, 38, faces 11 charges, including outraging the modesty of the victim by sending obscene words and images to the woman via WhatsApp between March and June 2021.
The preacher is charged under Section 509 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, a fine, or both upon conviction.
The trial will resume from January 15 to 17 next year.
