TENOM: A witness in the trial of Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew (pic) told a Magistrate’s Court that an alleged sexual harassment victim shared screenshots of conversation as well as pornographic images sent to her by the popular preacher.
Mohd Fairuz Abu said that a woman using a pseudonym got in touch with him through WhatsApp after he uploaded a post about a preacher accused of sexual harassment on July 26, 2016.
“In the beginning, she did not introduce herself nor mention her name.
“She asked me who the individual (preacher) was that I was referring to in the Facebook post.
“When I mentioned that it was related to Ebit Lew, the woman shared with me screenshots of her conversation with him, as well as pornographic images (of genitals) sent by him to her via WhatsApp,” he told magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani in response to questions from deputy public prosecutor Zahida Zakaria.
The motivational expert, who assisted the victim of sexual harassment involving Ebit Lew, took the witness stand yesterday.
Mohd Fairuz, 37, said he also sent the screenshots shared by the woman to a man named Firdaus Wong, who he said was handling a similar case involving the accused and another woman.
When DPP Zahida asked Mohd Fairuz what action he took after sending the screenshots to Wong, the witness said that on July 27 last year, he telephoned the woman to listen to the full chronology of events with regard to the harassment.
“In the beginning, she was scared and felt insecure about sharing.
“However, after I calmed her down, she shared everything from A to Z.
“I suggested she lodge a police report, but she was afraid and told me: ‘I am just a small person. Ebit Lew is a big personality. So, I don’t want to lodge a report’.”
After he made the suggestion, Mohd Fairuz said the woman asked for some time to discuss it with her husband and that she finally lodged a police report on Aug 7 last year.
Mohd Fairuz said he had personally met the woman and was able to identify her in court.
The witness also recognised Ebit Lew, who was sitting at the witness stand.
The accused, 37, faces 11 charges, among which he is accused of insulting the modesty of a woman, in her 40s, by sending obscene words to her phone number via WhatsApp between March and June last year.
The offence under Section 509 of the Penal Code carries a jail term of up to five years or a fine or both, if convicted. — Bernama