A witness testified in the Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday in the Ebit Lew Sexual Harassment trial. She said that the preacher Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew, popularly known as Ebit Lew, once tried to make a video call to her while shirtless. The witness is a woman in her 40s and a plaintiff in the sexual harassment lawsuit against Ebit Lew. She further said it was the first video call he had made to her after almost three weeks of communication via texts and voice calls.
Ebit Lew Sexual Harassment Trial: Witness Makes Shocking Revelations
During the examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Zahida Zakaria, the witness explained that she declined to accept the video call made on March 22, 2021, at 11:35 AM.
The witness, during her examination by Deputy Prosecutor Zahida Zakaria, explained that she refused to accept the video call made on March 22, 2021 at 11:35 am.
“He kept calling, and I kept rejecting the calls. In his text, he asked why I wasn’t answering and said, ‘this isn’t fair.’ I remember that he was shirtless when he made that video call,” she testified.
Further, the witness said that her interactions with Ebit Lew started on March 3, 2021 after she gave him her phone number through her Instagram. The day after sharing her number, Ebit Lew contacted her. During the four-minute and 51-second call, she recognized his voice from his social media posts, chats and live streams. “I recall him inquiring about me and my family, my job, and the problems I was facing. I was interested in his program and shared details about my family and issues,” she said.
Until March 29, 2021, Ebit Lew frequently sent WhatsApp messages and telephoned the witness, and it gradually became more sexually explicit.
Earlier in the trial, Zahida referred to a Celcom document containing subscriber information and call details to verify all calls made to the witness using Ebit Lew’s phone number. Additionally, the prosecution submitted Cyber Security Malaysia’s digital forensic case report, which included message exchanges between the two.
Ebit Lew Faces 11 Charges
Eleven charges are faced by 38-year-old Ebit Lew, including outraging the complainant’s modesty for sending obscene words and images to her via WhatsApp between March and June 2021. If convicted, these charges under Section 509 of the Penal Code, carry a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine or both.
The trial is expected to continue on Thursday as the court dives deeper into the allegations and evidence presented by the prosecution.