TENOM, April 30 — The Magistrate’s Court here today 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 the charges.

“After examining and evaluating, with a positive assessment of the credibility and reliability of all the evidence presented by the prosecution witnesses, and after hearing submissions from both parties, as well as upon maximum evaluation of all the prosecution’s evidence, this court finds that a prima facie case has been successfully established by the prosecution against the accused,” said Nur Asyraf.

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.

Ebit Lew was charged with 11 counts of sexual harassment, including outraging the modesty of a woman in her 40s by sending obscene images and messages via WhatsApp between March and June 2021.

He was charged under Section 509 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, or a fine, or both, upon conviction.

The court set October 13 to 16 for the defence trial.

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.

Deputy public prosecutors Nor Azizah Mohamad, Analia Kamaruddin and Muhammad Hidayat Wahab appeared for the prosecution, while Ebit Lew is also represented by lawyers Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki and Timothy Daut.

Meanwhile, Ram Singh, when met by reporters after the decision, 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. — Bernama