TENOM: The complainant in the sexual harassment case against preacher Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew, also known as Ebit Lew, expressed regret at idolizing him for his charity work and not anticipating such inappropriate behavior from him when testifying at the Magistrate’s Court on Thursday (Feb 15).
The woman, in her 40s, initially viewed him as a good person who helped those in need and never expected him to pressure her into sending him photos.
Deputy public prosecutor Analia Kamaruddin asked the ninth prosecution witness to read the contents of several messages she sent to Ebit Lew, including “da msj kt IG” (I’ve messaged in Instagram) and “langsung tidak minta maaf dengan saya sebab buat yang tidak sepatutnya dengan saya, paksa saya bagi picture macam-macam, bodohnya saya ikut” (no apology to me for doing what shouldn’t be done to me, forcing me for all sorts of pictures, I’m so stupid to obey).
She explained that she was trying to express her unease and guilt as she had given in to Ebit Lew’s coercion and sent several photos without her husband’s knowledge.
“I don’t know, maybe it’s because I’m a woman and I’m not used to doing this. So I’m hesitant, uneasy and feel so guilty, I’m so sad to have done it,” she said.
The witness also completed verifying all 436 screenshots of her conversations with the accused that were extracted from her mobile phone during today’s direct-examination, and she stated that some screenshots might be duplicates as she might have taken them twice.
Ebit Lew, 38, is facing 11 charges, including outraging the modesty of the complainant by sending lewd words and photos to the woman on WhatsApp from March to June 2021.
The trial was being held in front of Magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani and if found guilty under Section 509 of the Penal Code, the accused can face a maximum of five years in jail or fine or both.
The trial will resume from May 20 to 25. – Bernama
