Zayn Rayyan’s Parents Charged With Child Neglect, Here’s Everything We Know Starting From The Time of His Death

Here’s a quick summary of everything that has transpired in the lead-up to today:

Reported missing, and police report filed

In December of last year, Zayn was reported missing. According to reports, his mother, Ismanira Abdul Manaf, said that she had gone to a shop to buy a few things before picking up her son from school and returning home.

Upon reaching their apartment, Zayn insisted on playing at the playground, where Ismanira waited patiently before convincing him to go home with her after some time.

As she was carrying the groceries and Zayn’s schoolbag, she assumed that Zayn was following closely behind, but after climbing up a few steps of the staircase, she called out for him, but there was no response.

After realising that Zayn had gone missing, Ismanira frantically searched the entire area and the apartment compound for Zayn, but to no avail. She then reached out to her husband to report the disappearance and alert fellow residents.

Image Credit: Bernama, Social media

In another report, Petaling Jaya District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid confirmed that a missing person report was filed on the same day of Zayn’s disappearance.

This was followed up with a search by the police and the fire department around the apartment compound and nearby river.

His body was found and reported as a murder

On December 6, a day after the report, Zayn’s body was eventually found at a nearby river 200 metres away from the apartment and sent to Hospital Sungai Buloh for a post-mortem. The case was subsequently classified as sudden death.

The very next day, the post-mortem report revealed that Zayn sustained neck injuries, which suggested that he was strangled 48 hours before his body was dumped near the river.

Meanwhile, the report also revealed that defensive wounds were found on Zayn, which showed that he tried to fight back before he was murdered.

Subsequent arrests

Back in January, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain says investigation into the case is 90% complete. He says police are gathering intelligence to apprehend the suspect, who matched more than 50% of the statements from witnesses and information they received.

Zayn’s parents were arrested on May 31. Selangor police chief Hussein Omar Khan said the suspects will be remanded for seven days as part of the murder investigation. “They were arrested based on intelligence and leads gathered from the first day (of investigation) until now,” he said.

According to the couple’s lawyer Mahmud Abdul Jumaat, new leads led to the arrest. When asked about whether it was possible that new evidence in the investigation or conflicting statements were discovered, Mahmud said those could have been reasons for the arrests.

Meanwhile, Zayn’s grandparents were also arrested on June 12 as part of the murder probe.

Today (June 13), his parents, Zaim Ikhwan Zahari and Ismanira Abdul Manaf, pleaded not guilty after the charge was read out before Sessions Court judge Dr Syahliza Warnoh.

According to the charge sheet, the couple were jointly charged, as persons having the care of Zayn Rayyan, to have neglected him in a manner likely to cause him physical injury.

They said they understood the charge and pleaded not guilty. The case is fixed for mention on July 26. On the other hand, Fahmi Abd Moin, the lawyer representing the child’s father said that the investigation into the murder will continue until the perpetrator is found.

“The investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code will continue until the perpetrator is identified. This is the hope of the family and the community,” he told reporters today.