The ninth prosecution witness, and complainant in the case, in her 40s, said she initially refused Ebit’s request.

“However, during the video calls, I was swayed and followed Ebit’s instructions to gradually reveal parts of my body,” she said during re-examination by deputy public prosecutor Zahida Zakaria.

The witness said she only sent Ebit a picture of her face, taken from her mobile phone gallery, but that he had taken screenshots during the video calls. She added that she had answered three of his video calls.

Earlier, during cross-examination by Ebit’s lawyer Ram Singh, the woman said no “outside parties” forced or persuaded her to lodge a police report against Ebit.

The phrase “outside parties” referred to her husband, as well as prosecution witnesses Firdaus Wong and Fairuz Abu, also known as Akhi Fairuz Al-Jengkawi.

In response to another question, the woman explained that her playful messages in her WhatsApp conversation with Ebit were intended to divert the accused from requesting for more pictures.

The witness also agreed with Ram’s statement that she was not compelled to respond to Ebit’s messages.

However, she disagreed with the suggestion that her home mobile phone should be sent for forensic analysis, saying it only contained conversations related to the police report against Ebit, along with her messages on Facebook and Instagram.

Ebit, 38, 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.

The preacher 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 Dec 9.