Sex harassment victim felt too ‘small’ to lodge report against Ebit: witness

KUALA LUMPUR – The prosecution witness in the sexual harassment trial involving celebrity preacher Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew told the Tenom magistrates’ court today that the complainant had initially refused to lodge a police report as she felt that she was a “small person” compared to the accused, who was “a bigger person” in terms of stature.

According to FMT, motivational speaker Mohd Fairuz Abu, who appeared at the dock as the prosecution’s first witness, told the court he had previously received plenty of messages through WhatsApp from an individual who claimed to be a victim of sexual harassment, purportedly by Lew. 

“One of the individuals, (the victim in this case)  had contacted me on July 26, 2021 at 11.04pm. There were also other victims who complained (to me) of being sexually harassed by Lew.

“But they failed to identify themselves because they were afraid to come forward.

“In the beginning, the victim had asked who the individual I meant in a Facebook post was.

“When I mentioned Lew, the victim immediately shared screenshots of WhatsApp conversations between Lew and her.

“She also forwarded me a pornographic picture sent by Lew via WhatsApp,” he said.

Fairuz said this when answering the questions posed by deputy public prosecutor Zahida Zakaria in the presence of magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani.

He further testified that he had subsequently advised the victim to lodge a police report.

“I told the (victim), if she does not take the opportunity to lodge a police report, imagine how many more victims will be sexually harassed by Lew,” he said.

However, counsel Ram Singh who appeared on behalf of Lew objected to Fairuz’s answer that he felt that the remarks were accusatory and baseless against his client.

“The answer should not be recorded unless he has evidence of a police report,” he said.

In response to Ram’s objections, Zahida said what was uttered by Firdaus was merely the content of conversation between Firdaus and the victim.

Fairus further testified that the victim eventually lodged a police report and that he had been summoned by police to provide a statement.

“I was called in as a witness and my statement was recorded, while my OnePlus handphone was also given to police,” he added.

Lew, 37, is facing 11 charges, including insulting the modesty of a 41-year-old woman by sending lewd messages to her telephone number via WhatsApp between March and June last year.

He was charged under Section 509 of the Penal Code, which provides for a jail term of up to five years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

Lawyers Ram, Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki, Timothy Daut, Kimberly Ye Wanchuin, and Chen Wen Jye are representing Lew.

In February this year, Lew pleaded not guilty to the 11 charges and was released on a RM1,000 bail for each charge in two sureties.

Tenom is an interior district located about 145km south of Kota Kinabalu. – The Vibes, September 27, 2022