PETALING JAYA - The late Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin is not a troubled child, spending most of his time confined to his home.
The next-door neighbour of the victim, Abd Rashid Tatawi, 39, mentioned that the 6-year-old autistic child is only seen when going to and returning from school, always accompanied by his mother, Ismanira Abdul Manaf, 28.
According to him, Zayn does not socialise with the neighbour's children, who usually play in the corridors on the third floor of their homes in the evenings.
"I don't know the victim's family very well because we are all busy working, and we only chat when we bump into each other.
"Zayn isn't the kind of child who bothers others, and he doesn't make any noise from inside the house.
"To me, he isn't a problematic child," he told Sinar today.
Abd Rashid mentioned that Zayn's disappearance was noticed around 8.30pm on Tuesday when he returned from business in Damansara.
"I also joined in the search around the block, including the bushes (where the body was found), from 8.30pm until 1am, but we found no clues." "On the night Zayn's body was found, I had just finished business and went to the location.
"I helped carry his father, who fainted," he said.
Following the incident, he and his wife became more cautious, taking their children along when going out for business, fearing to leave their six children, aged one to 18, alone at home.
"After the incident, it's a lie to say we're not scared.
"As long as the suspect isn’t caught, we are worried because we don’t know who did it," he added.
Another neighbour, Shida Rajali, 35, expressed surprise that Zayn's case was classified as a murder, as she initially thought it was a typical missing person case.
"When Zayn was reported missing, I saw the victim's mother under the block, seemingly searching for something, but I didn't know Zayn was missing at that time.
"I only found out when my husband told me.
"I thought it was just a typical missing person case; I never imagined it would lead to murder," she stated.
Following the incident, she is reluctant to leave her child alone at home.
"Usually, when I send my child to school, I leave the other two at home for a while, as sometimes we walk to school.
"But after the incident, I don't dare leave them for even ten minutes.
"I'd rather take all of them along, as long as they're always in my sight," she mentioned.
She hopes that the Joint Management Body (JMB) of Idaman Apartment will install more closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in this residential area for the residents' safety.
"My husband and I plan to install CCTV outside our home as our house is next to the stairs, and many people use the stairs, which is a bit worrying," she added.