KUALA LUMPUR – The charge of child neglect against Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin’s parents is based on evidence police have, a lawyer said in addressing public reactions to the murder of the 6-year-old autistic boy.
Legal practitioner Datuk Khairul Anwar Rahmat said circumstantial evidence under Section 31 of the Child Act 2001 would be easier to prove than for murder under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
“The burden of proof under the Child Act, specifically to prove neglect, is ‘easier’ than the burden of proof for murder.
“In any criminal case, the burden of proof must be beyond reasonable doubt to prove that the parent did neglect their child, to a point that it may cause the latter injury or death,” he told Scoop.
Section 31 of the Child Act also does not take into account whether the neglect was intentional or not, to send a strong message to parents and guardians that they should not neglect their child, under any circumstances, another lawyer, Izleen Ismail, also told Scoop.
“In such cases, the prosecution is the voice of the child, so do not take the responsibility of caring for a child lightly.
“It is something the public should understand, I hope people understand, instead of continuing to scrutinise why Zayn’s parents are not charged under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder,” she said when asked about reactions to the charge against the autistic 6-year-old’s parents who had initially been investigated for his murder.
Section 31 says that any person, who has legal custody of a child, commits an offence when they abuse, neglect, abandon, or expose the child in their care, in a manner that likely causes the child to be physically or emotionally injured.
An offence under this section carries a maximum RM50,000 fine, or a maximum 20 years imprisonment or both upon conviction.
Izleen referred to the case of Rumah Bonda founder Siti Bainun Ahd Razali who has been sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment on two charges of neglect and abuse of Bella, a teenage girl with Down’s syndrome.
“Siti Bainun was charged with neglect under the same section of the Act. The court judgement in her case was clear because if there had been no neglect, the injuries on the victim’s body would not have happened.
“The public does not have to look far to justify their understanding of what ‘neglect’ is, as it is enough to understand that plainly, leaving kids unattended without their parents or legal supervision, amounts to neglect.
“This also includes leaving your kids at home, even if just for brief moments to get something at a sundry shop nearby, which can also amount to neglect, if anything were to happen to the child when the parent is away,” Izleen said.
Zayn Rayyan, who was found dead on December 6 in a small creek hidden by overgrowth about 200m from his residential block at the Idaman Apartments in Damansara Damai, was last seen the day before.
A post-mortem indicated that the child was killed, based on injuries found on his neck and body.
Right before he went missing, he was walking with his mother as they ascended the stairs to their third-floor apartment around 12.30pm on December 5.
His mother Ismanira Abdul Manaf, in her social media posts at that time, said that she had attempted to search the surrounding area, before informing her husband and local residents to assist in finding the boy.
Police also confirmed they received reports of Zayn’s disappearance at 6.36pm on the same day, around five hours after he was last seen.
After six months of investigations, police arrested the boy’s parents, Ismanira and husband Zaim Ikhwan Zahari, on May 31, under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder.
After 13 days in remand, they were charged yesterday at the Petaling Jaya sessions court with child neglect. They pleaded not guilty and were released on RM10,000 bail each.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain has said the charge of child neglect was the most suitable, based on evidence and statements collected during the investigation. – June 15, 2024