Update: Police investigating Telegram channel targeting celebrity preacher Ebit Lew
Lewd videos of someone who looks like the famous Malaysian preacher at the center of a sexual harassment investigation have been leaked on Telegram.
The videos, which showed a man who looked like Ebit Lew, 36, masturbating and displaying his penis in front of the camera, were shared to a channel set up by another Islamic public figure, Firdaus Wong, as a platform to encourage more people to file police complaints against Lew. It gained over 90,000 subscribers since yesterday.
Neither Lew nor Wong immediately responded to requests for comment.
The police launched an investigation into Lew on Aug. 19 after receiving multiple complaints of sexual harassment against him, including sending lewd videos, sharing photos of his genitals, and sending suggestive texts. Some of the accusers came forward with the help of Wong, the preacher told reporters yesterday.
“Everything on Telegram is evidence that the victims have shown the police,” he told Malaysiakini. There were also screenshots of online exchanges that purportedly showed Lew chatting up his alleged victims.
Wong did not release the videos earlier in light of police investigations, but changed his mind when he realized that it may encourage more people to come forward, he reportedly said.
A police report made against Lew in July had accused him of exposing his genitals in multiple video calls.
“I am traumatized by the experience,” the complainant said.
Lew is known for his philanthropic work including distributing tonnes of water during Selangor’s drought and starting a soup kitchen in Palestine. He has been sharing lovey-dovey videos of him and his wife to his five million followers amid the allegations.
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