PETALING JAYA: The mother of Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matin told the Sessions Court here on Monday (July 21) that she had never neglected her autistic son, specifically on Dec 5, 2023 as stated in the charges she faces.
Ismanira Abdul Manaf, 30, made the assertion during the examination-in-chief by her lawyer Haresh Mahadevan on the first day of her defence proceeding, as she shared with the court details of the day her son disappeared after she picked him up from school.
"I picked Zayn up five minutes late, because I stopped at a supermarket to buy ingredients to cook Zayn's lunch, spaghetti bolognese, which he loves. After coming back, I park my motorcycle at Block C and take Zayn to the playground, where he loves to swing; that's our daily routine.
"Halfway as I went up the stairs to my home, I realised that I couldn't hear the sound of his (Zayn's) shoes. I then went upstairs because I suspected Zayn had gone up, before me. When I arrived home, Zayn wasn't there. I didn't hear him running, because if he had, I would have immediately chased after him," she related.
She also shared that she left both the grille door and front door open in hopes that Zayn could come in when he returned.
"At that time, I called out Zayn, sometimes I call him abang because he is the eldest. I tried and called out abang..Zayn...abang where are you, but there was no reply," she said when recounting her movements when Zayn went missing at Block R of Idaman Apartment, Damansara Damai on Dec 5, 2023.
When asked by her lawyer whether she had asked the police about what happened to her son after his body was discovered at a stream near her home the night of Dec 6, 2023, Ismanira replied that the police stated there were criminal elements, based on the injuries suffered by her son, police suspected a pedophile or a drug addict.
Ismanira was testifying in her defence proceedings against charges of neglecting Zayn Rayyan that could possibly lead to physical harm around Block R of Idaman Apartments, Damansara Damai, to the area of the nearby stream between noon of Dec 5 and 9.55 pm of Dec 6, 2023.
The mother chose to provide sworn evidence from the witness box after Judge Dr Syahliza Warnoh ruled earlier today that the prosecution successfully proved a prima facie case against her, while her husband, Zaim Ikhwan Zahari, 30, was acquitted of a similar charge.
Ismanira faces a maximum jail sentence of 20 years or a fine of RM50,000 or both if found guilty of the charge under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001.
The proceedings would resume Tuesday (July 22). – Bernama
