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IN a chilling development during the trial of Zaim Ikhwan Zahari and his wife, Ismanira Abdul Manaf, 10 CCTV recordings were presented in court today, depicting key moments from the tragic case of their six-year-old son, Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matin.
The videos, including footage of autistic Zayn Rayyan in a drain and images of his mother leaving a supermarket, were shown as the prosecution continues to build its case against the parents, who are accused of neglecting their child in a manner that resulted in his injuries.
The footage was presented by the 26th prosecution witness, Senior Audio-Video Investigation Analyst from the Royal Malaysia Police Forensic Laboratory, Assistant Superintendent Latifah Abdul Aziz.
She explained that her task was to analyse specific footage related to the disappearance of Zayn Rayyan on December 5, 2023. One of the key pieces of footage shown, titled "CCTV shows victim in drain," captured an individual wearing a white shirt in a drain at 12:13 pm on the day of his disappearance.
Another video, titled "Witness running," was recorded at 12:08 pm, showing a person in black running.
Latifah, who has worked with the police forensic unit since 2011, stated that she had processed and enhanced several images from the footage.
"I was able to capture nine relevant images, but I found that the face of the individual believed to be the victim was unclear and blurred," she explained. "This was due to a fence between the CCTV camera and the subject, which obstructed the image."
The analyst also detailed her work on a separate series of CCTV recordings from the Econsave supermarket, taken between 11:54 and 11:57 am on the same day.
These images show a woman, identified as the victim’s mother, wearing a black hijab and a green floral blouse, carrying a purple and white bag. The footage depicts her walking toward a motorcycle after leaving the store. Further footage from a tunnel also showed an individual in white walking, and another person in black running.
However, Latifah noted that the quality of these images was compromised due to obstacles such as trees and fences, as well as the distance between the camera and the subjects.
Zaim Ikhwan and Ismanira, both aged 30, are facing charges of child neglect under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001, which could result in a fine of up to RM50,000, a prison sentence of up to 20 years, or both, if convicted.
The charges allege that the parents failed to provide proper care for their son, which led to physical harm. The events are said to have occurred between 12:00 pm on December 5 and 9:55 pm on December 6, 2023, in the area around Block R, Idaman Apartments, Damansara Damai, and a nearby river.
The trial continues to raise questions about the safety and care of vulnerable children, especially those with special needs, highlighting the tragic consequences of neglect.
The case will resume on April 21, 2025, under the supervision of Judge Dr. Syahliza Warnoh.
In a shocking development at the Sessions Court on Tuesday, Dr. Rohayu Shahar Adnan, a Senior Forensic Medical Consultant from the Forensic Department at Pasir Gudang Hospital, revealed that the cause of death of young Zayn Rayyan, aged five, was a result of strangulation to the neck.
Dr. Rohayu, who was serving at Sungai Buloh Hospital at the time of the autopsy, provided these findings during the ongoing trial of Zaim Ikhwan Zahari, 30, and his wife, Ismanira Abdul Manaf, 30, who are facing charges related to the abuse and neglect of the child.
Dr. Rohayu, 54, who is the 27th prosecution witness, explained that the autopsy, conducted on December 7, 2023, at 12:00 pm, found that the child’s death was not due to drowning, as no signs of suffocation or water in the lungs were found.
During questioning by Deputy Public Prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin, Dr. Rohayu clarified that strangulation could be caused by various objects such as ropes, lanyards, or twisted cloth, which she stated were likely used in this case.
She also emphasized that the presence of skin indentations on the child’s hands and feet was indicative of water contact but was not related to the cause of death.
“If the child had died from drowning, we would have observed lung expansion and water-filled lungs,” Dr. Rohayu explained. “However, there were no such signs in this case, which made the drowning theory irrelevant.”
Further explaining the autopsy results, Dr. Rohayu pointed to clear signs of physical trauma around the child’s neck. “There were visible signs of strangulation, with bruising found on the muscles of the neck and the thyroid glands,” she said.
“The pressure exerted on the neck was so severe that it restricted oxygen flow to both the lungs and the brain, ultimately causing the child to suffocate, leading to death.”
Dr. Rohayu also reported other disturbing injuries, including blunt and sharp force trauma to the body. She revealed that foreign objects had been discovered in Zayn Rayyan’s respiratory tract and stomach, suggesting that an object had been forcibly inserted into the child’s mouth.
Despite this, she clarified that these objects did not contribute to the cause of death, stating that the strangulation was the primary factor.
“The foreign objects in the throat were likely introduced forcibly, as evidenced by the bruising on the child's palate. However, these objects did not cause the child’s death,” she added. - April 9, 2025