TENOM: The ninth witness in the sexual harassment trial of Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew or Ebit Lew told the Magistrate's Court here that she filed a police report to stop the preacher's actions and prevent further victims.
The woman, in her forties, said that initially, she and her husband did not want to lodge a police report, but after pictures and videos of Lew were circulated, she decided on Aug 2, 2021, to do so.
She stated that she chose to make the report at the Bukit Aman Police Station on Aug 7, 2021, because Ebit Lew is a well-known preacher.
"At first, my husband and I planned not to report (to the police), let Allah alone respond to what Ebit did. But when we saw the many pictures and videos being circulated, we decided to report because there were many victims," she said on Thursday (May 23).
The witness was addressing a question by deputy public prosecutor Zahida Zakaria during the main examination before Magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani.
The witness stated that she and her husband also talked about the Facebook posts by Mohd Fairuz Abu or Akhi Fairuz Al-Jengkawi, the first prosecution witness regarding the sexual harassment by the famous preacher, on July 26, 2021.
She said Akhi Fairuz was at Bukit Aman when she made the police report as a witness before she was taken to meet the third prosecution witness, Firdaus Wong.
When asked if Akhi Fairuz and Wong offered any incentive or cut any deal with her to incriminate Lew, she said, "No, none."
During the three-hour testimony, the woman revealed that she tried to block and unblock Lew's phone number on April 9, 2021, between 2.07am and 11.44pm.
"Yes, it's true, initially, I blocked him, but that day I felt confused. I became worried, so I blocked him. Because I was angry that he sent obscene messages and asked for obscene pictures, but at the same time, I unblocked (him) because I was worried that I had sent him some of my pictures," she said.
"That's why I unblocked him. He never apologised for his actions. So, to me, he hasn't changed. He's bad," said the witness.
Lew, 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 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 in prison, a fine, or both upon conviction.
The trial resumes Friday (May 24).- Bernama
