THE parents of deceased autistic boy Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin were charged today at the Petaling Jaya sessions court with neglect of their six-year-old son.

The couple was earlier brought into the courtroom under heavy police escort before judge Syahliza Warnoh.

Zaim Ikhwan Zahari and Ismanira Abdul Manaf, both aged 29, said they understood the charge and pleaded not guilty to the offence. 

The charge was framed under the Child Act 2001.

The couple was arrested on May 31. The police also arrested Zayn’s grandparents yesterday.

The grandparents, said Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar, were detained to assist investigations into the boy’s murder.

Last December 6, the body of six-year-old Zayn was found lying in a stream close to his home at Idaman Apartment, Damansara Damai in Petaling Jaya. He was reported missing the day before.

The child is believed to have been murdered after a post-mortem found self-defence wounds on his body. – June 13, 2024