PETALING JAYA: A witness told the Sessions Court here that she had never seen the late Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matin playing at the playground of Idaman Apartment, Damansara Damai, before or on the day the autistic child went missing on Dec 5, 2023.
Rashidah Rajali, 37, a neighbour of Zayn Rayyan’s parents, Ismanira Abdul Manaf and Zaim Ikhwan Zahari, who lives on the second floor of the same apartment, said that in her 10 years of living there, she had never seen the child playing outside or with her own children.
"My children often play at the playground in the evenings, and I always accompany them. However, I have never seen Zayn Rayyan playing there. I have three children who frequently ride bicycles along the corridor, yet I have never seen Zayn Rayyan playing in the corridor either, even though we live on the same floor,” she said on Tuesday (Feb 18).
She said during examination-in-chief by Deputy Public Prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin on the seventh day of the trial involving the child’s parents who are facing charges of neglect, before Judge Dr Syahliza Warnoh.
On Feb 5, former investigating officer at the Petaling Jaya District Police Headquarters, Inspector Nina Syamimi Syamsuddin, 33, testified that during her recorded statement, Ismanira mentioned that upon returning home, Zayn Rayyan refused to go inside because he wanted to play on the swing.
According to Nina Syamimi, Ismanira said she was climbing the stairs and the child was walking behind her, but when she turned around after no longer hearing his footsteps, he was gone.
"At the time of the incident, the complainant (Ismanira) said she was holding shopping bags in both hands. When she realised she couldn’t hear her child’s footsteps, she placed the bags on the stairs, turned around, and discovered that he was missing.
"She searched around Block R until 1pm before contacting her husband to inform him of the situation,” said the fourth prosecution witness.
Rashidah, meanwhile, told the court that when she saw Ismanira on the staircase of Block R at around 12.15pm on Dec 5, she did not see her carrying any items other than a blue and red bag and a sling bag.
"I bumped into Ismanira while I was heading downstairs to send my eldest child to school, and she was going up. She was wearing a black headscarf, a white blouse and either black palazzo pants or a skirt. She was looking down, and we did not speak,” she said.
Rashidah, the 16th prosecution witness, said she saw Ismanira again at 12.35pm on the same day when she returned home after picking up her other two children from school.
"At that time, Zayn Rayyan’s mother was coming down from the first floor while I was going up from the ground floor. When I got home, my husband called to ask about our children and whether they had eaten. He also told me that Zayn Rayyan was missing.
"When I saw Ismanira again, she was wearing a dark-patterned headscarf, and her clothes were different from before. Her face showed no expression, and I did not speak to her,” she added.
Earlier, two 10-year-old boys gave their testimonies during a closed-door (in-camera) proceeding.
On June 13, 2024, Zaim Ikhwan and Ismanira, both 30, pleaded not guilty at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court to a charge of neglecting their six-year-old autistic son in a manner likely to cause him physical harm between noon on Dec 5 and 9.55 pm on Dec 6, 2023, at Jalan PJU Damansara Damai.
The charge, framed under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 and punishable under Section 31(1) of the same Act, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum fine of RM50,000, imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both, upon conviction.
On Dec 6, 2023, Zayn Rayyan’s body was discovered in a stream near his home at Apartment Idaman, Damansara Damai, a day after he was reported missing.
The child is believed to have been murdered, with a post-mortem revealing injuries to his neck and body consistent with self-defence wounds.
The trial continues Wednesday (Feb 19).- Bernama
