TENOM: The magistrate's court today allowed a celebrity preacher's 11 cases related to sexual harassment to be heard together.
Ebit Irawan Ibrahim Lew, 37, will stand trial from Aug 1 until Aug 5.
Magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani fixed the dates after allowing an application by the prosecution for the cases to be jointly tried.
The prosecution made the application under Section 165 of the Criminal Procedure Code on the grounds that all charges preferred against the accused were of the same nature, which was insulting the modesty of a person.
Further, the charges involved the same witnesses.
The court also fixed June 30, for further case management to serve some pending documents to the defence and to get further details of the trial.
Ebit had, on Feb 18, claimed trial to all the 11 charges against him.
He was alleged to have insulted the modesty of a 41-year-old woman 11 times via WhatsApp between March 2021 and June 2021.
The offences provides a maximum imprisonment of five years or fine or both, upon conviction.
Sabah state prosecution director Muhammad Ilmami Ahmad and Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Azreen Yas Mohamad Ramli prosecuted.
Ebit was represented by counsel Ram Singh, Kamarudin Mohmad Chinki and Timothy Daut.