Kuala Lumpur: A witness in the sexual harassment trial involving preacher Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew, or Ebit Lew, informed the Magistrate’s Court here that the WhatsApp messages exchanged between the complainant and the preacher had been deleted and could not be retrieved.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Cybersecurity Malaysia’s Responsive Technology and Services Division head, Mohd Zabri Adil Talib, who is the 15th witness, testified that he conducted an analysis on two SIM cards belonging to the complainant and one belonging to Ebit Lew using specialised software. He explained that the deleted messages could not be retrieved from any of the numbers because of the current limitations of available technology.

He further stated that the analysis was carried out on three numbers at the request of investigating officer DSP Noor Asyikin Shamsuri, who sought to trace deleted conversations within the WhatsApp application. In his written statement, Mohd Zabri confirmed the digital forensic report for the case, stating that the examination was limited to the complainant’s mobile phone, as Ebit Lew’s device did not have the WhatsApp application installed.

Additionally, Mohd Zabri mentioned that only the volume of phone conversations conducted via WhatsApp could be detected from the complainant’s device, which contained records of communication and interaction history with Ebit Lew. Lew, 39, faces 11 charges, including outraging the modesty of a woman in her 40s by sending obscenities to her phone via WhatsApp between March and June 2021.

These charges fall under Section 509 of the Penal Code, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine, or both upon conviction. The trial before Magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani is set to resume on March 11.