THE Shah Alam High Court today dismissed the application by the parents of the late Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matin to quash the charges and to be discharged and acquitted from the charge of neglecting the autistic child, reported Berita Harian.
Judge Roszianayati Ahmad made the decision after finding that the charges faced by Zaim Ikhwan Zahari, 30, and Ismanira Abdul Manaf, 30, were not flawed and met the essence of the charges under Section 31(1) of the Child Act 2001.
The husband and wife requested to be discharged and acquitted from all the charges against them on June 13 last year, in addition to the trial proceedings set at the Petaling Jaya Sessions Court being postponed.
Through the supporting affidavit filed, Zaim Ikhwan and Ismanira claimed that the criminal charges against them did not disclose any offense under Section 31 of the Child Act 2001.
"We read the charges and did not find any details regarding the alleged offense. We do not know how to defend ourselves based on the charges.
"We cannot give instructions to the defence lawyer because we did not find any details in the charges that can be answered, and we do not know exactly what the prosecution is accusing us of." Therefore, we cannot prepare a defence," he said in an affidavit seen by the media.
They also believe that the charges faced do not comply with Sections 153 and 154 of the Criminal Procedure Code, thereby not being granted the constitutional right to a fair trial guaranteed under Articles 5 and 8 of the Federal Constitution.
On June 13, Zaim Ikhwan and Ismanira pleaded not guilty at the Sessions Court to a charge of neglecting their six-year-old autistic child in a manner that could cause physical injury to him around Jalan PJU Damansara Damai from noon on December 5 to 9:55 pm on December 6, 2023.
Zayn Rayyan's body was found lying in a stream near his home in Idaman Apartments, Damansara Damai, here, after being reported missing the day before. – March 4, 2025
