TENOM, Dec 21 — The third prosecution witness in the trial of Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew, or Ebit Lew, told the Magistrates’ Court here that today was the first time he saw the obscene photos allegedly sent by the plaintiff to the preacher.

President of a non-governmental organisation (NGO) Multiracial Reverted Muslims (MRM) Firdaus Wong Wai Hung, however, said he was not sure if the photos belonged to the plaintiff.

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During the re-examination, deputy public prosecutor Zahida Zakaria asked Wong if the plaintiff had informed him that she had sent obscene photos to Ebit Lew when they met for the first time on August 7, 2021.

“No, (the plaintiff) never told me about it, and I also did not ask. This is the first time I saw (the materials), and I cannot be sure if they belonged to the plaintiff or other people,” he said.

During the cross-examination by counsel Ram Singh, Wong said he did not know that the plaintiff had sent obscene photos to Ebit Lew through a mobile phone.

The witness also said that he was not sure if the plaintiff had stated in her report that she had been communicating with the lawyer’s client 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 the WhatsApp application 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