TENOM: The Magistrate’s Court has ordered preacher Ebit Irawan Lew, or Ebit Lew, to enter his defence on 11 charges related to sexual harassment.
Magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani said the court found that the prosecution had successfully established a prima facie case against Ebit Lew, 41, on all charges.
“After examining and evaluating the evidence, and upon a comprehensive assessment of the credibility and reliability of all prosecution witnesses, as well as hearing submissions from both parties, this court finds that a prima facie case has been established by the prosecution against the accused,” said Nur Asyraf yesterday.
The court made the decision at the end of the prosecution’s case after hearing testimony from 18 prosecution witnesses during the trial, which began in September 2022, Bernama reported.
Ebit Lew was charged with 11 counts of sexual harassment, including allegedly outraging the modesty of a woman in her 40s by sending obscene images and messages via WhatsApp between March and June 2021.
The court set Oct 13 to 16 for the defence hearing.
Lawyer Datuk Ram Singh, representing Ebit Lew, informed the court that the defence will call between seven and 10 witnesses.
“The accused has chosen to testify under oath from the witness stand,” he said.
Ram Singh said the defence respects the court’s ruling.
“We hope this case will be concluded soon as it has dragged on for more than four years,” he said.
