PETALING JAYA: The Sessions Court was informed today that the body of autistic child Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matin was discovered clean and lying on its side with bent legs, on a pile of sand in a stream near his home at Idaman Apartment, Damansara Damai, on the evening of Dec 6, 2023.
Faizul Najib Abd Munaim, 47, the first person to find Zayn Rayyan’s body, testified that he discovered the child at 9.40 pm, noting that the victim’s clothes were clean, with no signs of dirt.
“I cried when I saw the victim’s shirt lifted up, revealing vein bruising and he was no longer alive. I felt regret for not acting sooner,“ he tearfully testified during the fourth day of the trial for the neglect case involving the child’s parents, Zaim Ikhwan Zahari and Ismanira Abdul Manaf.
Faizul Najib explained that during a search with two others, he shone a torch to the right and saw the child’s body, immediately jumping into the chest-deep water.
“I screamed, and when the others heard me, they shouted, ‘We found him! Call an ambulance,‘” he said.
Upon reaching the body, Faizul Najib described it as looking like the child was sleeping. “I hoped he would respond when I shouted, maybe by blinking his eyes. Unfortunately, there was no response,“ according to the sixth prosecution witness.
When asked by deputy public prosecutor (DPP) Kamarul Iman Ahmad Sapian if the body was submerged, Faizul Najib confirmed it was not, and there were no visible injuries.
After the body was found, Faizul Najib said Corporal Hunter, a police officer at the scene, approached him, and minutes later, a man identifying himself as Zayn Rayyan’s grandfather also arrived, expressing his wish to see the body.
He said Zayn Rayyan’s father arrived later. Faizul Najib told the court that he recognised him after being introduced, noting that the man became emotional upon seeing his child.
“He lamented ‘Who killed my child’,“ said Faizul Najib, adding that he later met with the child’s family to offer condolences before returning home to Saujana Apartment.
Faizul Najib recounted that Zayn Rayyan’s father inquired if his son was still alive when he was found.
“I said I found him in that condition. His wife tried to console him and said, ‘Be patient, let him (Faizul Najib) speak first,‘” he said.
When Kamarul Iman questioned him about Zayn Rayyan’s mother’s reaction, Faizul Najib noted that she remained calm, possibly accepting that her son was gone and that he didn’t see her tears because it was a brief glance.
The seventh prosecution witness, Ahmad Nur Syaruddin Mad Zawawi, 36, testified that a man approached him and identified himself as the child’s father.
“He asked to see and hold the child’s body for a moment. He was screaming, but I’m not sure what he said,“ Ahmad Nur Syaruddin recalled during the examination-in-chief by DPP Aqharie Durranie Aziz.
Ahmad Nur Syaruddin added that the police did not allow the father to approach the area where the body was found due to his erratic behaviour.
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 offence allegedly occurred along PJU Damansara Damai between noon on Dec 5 and 9.55 pm on Dec 6, 2023.
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-defense.
The trial resumes tomorrow.
