This third affidavit (following that of Jeshaiah Lim and Tabitha Tay) is provided by a young Malaysian who grew up within The Westminster Tradition. The courage he displays in allowing his statement to be published online is commendable. Some of the personal data in this statement has been redacted in order to prevent his name and details becoming digitally associated with The Westminster Tradition. It does little to protect him from those who knew him during his childhood, who will immediately identify him from the unredacted details. This affidavit will be viewed by those within as a direct attack upon the ‘anointed servant of God’. Many will gnash their teeth. Few will let fall a tear. But consider a moment: the author of the affidavit has been forthright in admitting his personal sins and the manner in which he went astray. He does not boast any moral superiority, affirming instead that truancy, poverty, drugs and violence have been his lot. I personally remember hearing on The Westminster Tradition grapevine that [name] had ‘run away and become a Muslim and a gangster’. At the time I was perplexed and accepted the official propaganda that God was judging him. I lacked insight and compassion. Where is a 15-year-old school drop-out supposed to flee to? It is a dark and lonely place for those children who suffer Elijah Chacko’s brutal spiritual and psychological regime (which is in truth worse than the physical abuse). They dream of escape, but cannot confide in any. To run away is to cut themselves off from family and friends. It is not only children who feel this. Parents who leave The Westminster Tradition are denounced and disowned by their own children! It is the sheer mercies of God that some families have escaped intact. There are many more which have been torn asunder by The Westminster Tradition. ‘Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!’
My prayer for this young man is that he may remember that Christ Jesus came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance (Mark 2:17). Take His yoke upon you, and learn of Him… and you shall find rest unto your soul (Matt 11:17). For He Who cannot lie has plainly declared that, ‘him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out (John 6:37).’
Sometimes, I was stripped completely naked and publicly subjected to caning over my entire body. On one occasion, this happened because I did not say “thank you” when Elijah Thomas Chacko and his assistants bought food for me. The caning was so severe that I was bleeding on my hands and back.
Elijah Thomas Chacko falsely accused me of breaking a MYR800 trophy which I had not done and for 3 days he caned me all over my body. I was punched, kicked and even suffocated until I acknowledged that I had broken the trophy.
At the age of 15, I ran away from home…I could not no longer bear to hear the teachings of Elijah and my parents’ conclusions about me. They often cursed me and told me that if I would not turn and come back to Elijah Chacko’s organisation, I would certainly be on the way to hell.
AFFIDAVIT OF [REDACTED]
My name is [redacted]. I am [redacted] years old. I currently reside at [redacted]. I am a food vendor at various night markets in Malaysia.
This is my testimony concerning the abuse I suffered under Elijah Thomas Chacko and his organisation, The Westminster Tradition and how it has affected me until today.
1. When I was 9 and 10 years old, I left my family home in [redacted] to live with Elijah Thomas Chacko in Johor Bahru (where [redacted] and a friend also resided). My parents had thought it would do me spiritual good to be close to Elijah. Throughout my stay there, I suffered various forms of physical abuse such as being caned, punched and forced to do long hours of manual labour. I was also the subject of ragging by Elijah Thomas Chacko and other members of The Westminster Tradition organisation.
2. Many times I was wrongfully accused and forced to confess to another’s wrongdoing. For example, Elijah Thomas Chacko falsely accused me of breaking a MYR800 trophy which I had not done and for 3 days he caned me all over my body. I was punched, kicked and even suffocated until I acknowledged that I had broken the trophy. I was only 10 years old at that time. I will never forget what happened during those 3 days.
3. Sometimes, I was stripped completely naked and publicly subjected to caning over my entire body. On one occasion, this happened because I did not say “thank you” when Elijah Thomas Chacko and his assistants bought food for me. The caning was so severe that I was bleeding on my hands and back. It was obvious enough that even my primary school teacher noticed and wanted to report this to the police.
4. At that time, I had thought that Elijah Thomas Chacko’s teachings were true – that for the sake of my soul I needed to submit myself to the ‘application of the law’ (discipline). Therefore, I prevented my teacher from reporting the matter to the police.
5. Throughout my years living with Elijah Thomas Chacko, I was prevented from attending school activities on Saturdays and Sundays and was made to stay at home and do unpaid manual labour in Elijah’s home. This involved such things as taking care of the garden as well as his numerous pets (dogs, rabbits, birds, fish, peacocks, chickens, quail, squirrels). I was told that I was expected to do these chores as a form of recompense to Elijah for sponsoring my stay at his home.
6. I recently found out that this was not entirely true as my parents paid MYR400 monthly for our daily expenses and my auntie (who was also staying with us) helped pay for many of our meals and school expenses.
7. My peers and I were also forced to give Elijah massages for long hours. Many times I massaged until I nodded off but still I had to continue on. It made it hard for me to get up for school in the mornings. It was hard for me to focus in school and during church services. If I fell asleep during the Sunday morning service, I was made to stand on the stool in public as punishment for falling asleep. But the cause of my tiredness was because I had stayed up late to massage Elijah.
8. The physical abuse affected the way I developed as a child. When angered, I became violent. I vented my anger at my friends and peers in school. I became a gangster in school and was eventually expelled and sent home to my parents [redacted].
9. Elijah and his assistants never counselled or positively encouraged me to improve or change from my bad behaviour. They only told my brothers and friends to stay away from me as I was a bad influence. I was prohibited from seeing them or spending time with them.
10. Elijah Thomas Chacko also told us that we should practice ‘Biblical Separation’ (setting ourselves apart from or shunning people outside The Westminster Tradition). We were not allowed to have close friends outside of the organisation.
11. As a result of this teaching and being ostracized from within the organisation by Elijah, I felt lonely and lost. Slowly this loneliness turned to anger and disgust at what I had experienced. I wondered how an organisation claiming to be the church of God could behave like this.
12. I began to privately explore life outside of The Westminster Tradition and went astray. I mixed with the wrong crowd and indulged in bad habits such as fights and drug-taking, often played truant from school. I took [redacted] to escape from reality. I did not want to think about the situation I was in.
13. My parents did not fully understand what had caused me to change and turn out this way. They were so blinded by Elijah Thomas Chacko’s teachings. They fully believed everything he had told them about me and so I was left on my own.
14. At the age of 15, I ran away from home and tried to find my own life. I could not no longer bear to hear the teachings of Elijah and my parents’ conclusions about me. They often cursed me and told me that if I would not turn and come back to Elijah Chacko’s organisation, I would certainly be on the way to hell. I worked odd jobs for low wages just to survive.
15. It was hard for me to be without my parents’ support and I grew up feeling unloved by them.
16. Unto this day I am a fighter and my instinct is to use violence when provoked. I am also still fighting my addiction to drugs.
17. When I heard in 2018 that my family had left The Westminster Tradition, I was so happy and relieved. I have started coming home more frequently and I feel less resentful towards my parents. My parents also care about me much more now and check on me frequently to make sure I am safe. I feel like I finally have some support and love from them.
18. I am testifying in the hope that what I have experienced will not happen to anyone else.
I hereby state that the information above is true, to the best of my knowledge. I also confirm that the information here is both accurate and complete, and relevant information has not been omitted.
Click HERE for PDF of Child #1 Affidavit
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