Ebit Lew trial in Tenom: Deleted messages cannot be retrieved, says witness

10 Jan 2024 • 11:45 AM MYT
Daily Express
Daily Express

Daily Express Online (Malaysia) is Sabah's top-ranked & most viewed English news site. It is also Sabah's leading & most circulated daily English newspaper.

image is not available

Tenom: A witness in the trial of preacher Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew, better known as Ebit Lew, told the magistrates’ court here that attempts to retrieve deleted WhatsApp messages from a woman’s mobile phone were unsuccessful.

Police senior audio-video analyst Latifah Abdul Aziz, 43, the seventh prosecution witness, said any messages deleted in the WhatsApp application could not be recovered.

She said this when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Nor Azizah Mohamad.

Nor Azizah: Can you explain why you agreed with the question posed by (lawyer) Ram Singh suggesting that there might be messages that had possibly been deleted?

SPONSORED CONTENT Sabah International Convention Centre’s Big Sabah Sale a big hit Kota Kinabalu: The Sabah International Convention Centre’s (SICC) Big Sabah Sale which concluded on Sunday saw a good response with about 20,000 visitors during the three-day extravaganza. . Read more Latifah: Please refer to the screenshot dated Aug 7, 2021, showing the conversation content from the WhatsApp application. I acknowledge the possibility of deleted messages, but I cannot verify.

The witness said, based on the screenshot, so-called deleted messages were visible in the conversation content, suggesting a potential deletion, but it could not be confirmed.

Lew, 38, faces 11 charges, including outraging the modesty of a woman by sending obscene words and images to her phone through WhatsApp between March and June 2021.

The charges under Section 509 of the Penal Code provide a prison sentence of up to five years, a fine or both if convicted.

The trial before magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani continues today.

* Follow us on Instagram and join our Telegram and/or WhatsApp channel(s) for the latest news you don't want to miss.

* Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available.