He said the claims were intended to damage his reputation and prevent him from carrying out his charity work.

“These are baseless accusations with an ulterior motive to ruin my credibility and hinder me from doing my charity work,” he said when met in Tenom town in the interior of Sabah.

“I believe there is a group out there trying to incriminate me.”

Ebit, 37, said he only knew of the charges several days ago.

“I was shocked to learn about them while I was in the midst of carrying out charity work in Sabah. I actually wasn’t here for the court case.

“But I am not worried (after learning about the charges being brought against him) because I know I am not guilty. I believe this is a test from Allah,” he said.

Earlier, Ebit, who was charged under Section 509 of the Penal Code, pleaded not guilty to all 11 charges of sexual harassment at the circuit court in the Tenom district office.

If convicted, he could face up to five years in jail or a fine, or both.

Magistrate Nur Asyraf Zolhani fixed April 20-23 as the trial date. The court also released Ebit after he posted RM1,000 bail on each of the charges, with two sureties.