TENOM – The third prosecution witness in the trial of Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew, better known as Ebit Lew, told the magistrates’ court here that today was the first time he saw the obscene photos allegedly sent by the complainant to the preacher.
Firdaus Wong Wai Hung, the president of non-governmental organisation Multiracial Reverted Muslims, however, said he was not sure if the photos belonged to the complainant.
During the re-examination, deputy public prosecutor Zahida Zakaria asked Wong if the complainant had informed him that she had sent obscene photos to Lew when they met for the first time on August 7, 2021.
“No, (the complainant) never told me about it, and I also did not ask. This is the first time I saw (the photos), and I cannot be sure if they belonged to the complainant or other people,” he said.
During the cross-examination by counsel Ram Singh, Wong said he did not know that the complainant had sent obscene photos to Lew through a mobile phone.
The witness also said that he was not sure if the complainant had stated in her report that she had been communicating with Lew from March to July 2021.
Ram: Did you ask her if it is true that she has been communicating with my client since March 2021? Why did she lodge a police report months later, on August 7, 2021?
Wong: No, I didn’t.
Lew, 37, faces 11 charges, including insulting the modesty of a woman in her 40s by sending obscene words to the victim’s phone number via WhatsApp between March and June last year.
The charge under Section 509 of the Penal Code provides for a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine, or both, upon conviction.
The trial before magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani continues tomorrow. – Bernama, December 21, 2022
