TENOM: A witness in the sexual harassment trial involving preacher Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew, or Ebit Lew, told the Magistrate’s Court here that the WhatsApp messages exchanged between the complainant and the preacher had been deleted and could not be retrieved.
Cybersecurity Malaysia’s Responsive Technology and Services Division head, Mohd Zabri Adil Talib, 45, 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.
“The deleted messages could not be retrieved from any of the numbers. If WhatsApp messages have been deleted, they cannot be recovered due to the current limitations of available technology,” he explained in response to a question from deputy public prosecutor Rasyidah Murni Adzmi.
He explained that the analysis was carried out on three numbers following a request from investigating officer DSP Noor Asyikin Shamsuri, who sought to trace deleted conversations within the WhatsApp application.
In his written statement, Mohd Zabri, who confirmed the digital forensic report for the case, said the examination was confined to the complainant’s mobile phone, as Ebit Lew’s device did not have the WhatsApp application installed.
He added 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 the preacher.
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.
He is charged 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 resumes on March 11.
