Petaling Jaya: A police investigating officer told the Sessions Court here today that none of the 27 prosecution witnesses had stated that the parents of Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matin had ever neglected the autistic child two years ago.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, ASP Mohd Hafizee Ismail, 38, who served as the senior investigating officer at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters at the time, was cross-examined by defence counsel Haresh Mahadevan on the 19th day of the trial of Ismanira Abdul Manaf and Zaim Ikhwan Zahari, who are charged with child neglect, before Judge Dr Syahliza Warnoh.

Mohd Hafizee, who is now with the Operations Intelligence Unit at the Klang Selatan Criminal Investigation Division, also agreed with the counsel’s suggestion that, based on the medical report, Zayn Rayyan was neither abused nor neglected.

Haresh Mahadevan questioned ASP Mohd Hafizee about the 27 prosecution witnesses who have testified, confirming that not a single one stated in court that they saw either of the accused, Zaim Ikhwan or Ismanira, neglecting Zayn Rayyan on Dec 5 and 6, 2023. The officer admitted his uncertainty and confirmed that no witness had made such a statement.

The 28th prosecution witness, ASP Mohd Hafizee, also agreed that none of the witnesses had seen either of the accused near the stream where Zayn Rayyan’s body was found, adjacent to Block R of the Idaman Apartment in Damansara Damai.

On June 13 last year, Zaim Ikhwan and Ismanira, both aged 30, pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court to a charge of neglecting their six-year-old autistic son in a manner likely to cause physical harm. The alleged offence occurred between noon on Dec 5 and 9.55 pm on Dec 6, 2023, along PJU Damansara Damai.

They were charged under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which is punishable by a maximum fine of RM50,000, imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both upon conviction.

Zayn Rayyan was reported missing on Dec 5, 2023, and his body was discovered in a stream near his home at Apartment Idaman, Damansara Damai, the following day. He was believed to have been murdered, and an autopsy revealed injuries to his neck and body, consistent with self-defence.