PETALING JAYA – A witness told the Sessions Court here today that there had been a conversation where someone said "I feel like killing someone" nearly six months before the body of Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matin was found in a stream near his home at Apartment Idaman, Damansara Damai, here.
Analyst from the Computer Crime Investigation Unit of the Royal Malaysia Police Forensic Laboratory Assistant Superintendent Mohd Zaidi Abu Hassan said there were also messages like "I can’t even rest" and "just beat them until you're satisfied."
He was testifying in the trial of Zayn Rayyan's parents, Ismanira Abdul Manaf and Zaim Ikhwan Zahari, both 30, who are facing a charge of neglecting their six-year-old autistic son in a manner likely to cause him physical harm.
During the proceedings, Zaidi said the conversations took place over WhatsApp between two phone numbers on June 20, 2023.
The 25th prosecution witness also told the court that on the day Zayn Rayyan went missing on Dec 5, 2023, there were WhatsApp messages exchanged containing phrases like "Zayn is missing", "he ran off", "up to him if he wants to live or die", and "I’m so tired of searching."
"There was also a message saying "I am so pissed off", all of which occurred between 12.20pm and 12.59pm, the same day.
"This was obtained from the examination and analysis of a Huawei phone, with conversations recorded on June 20, Oct 11, Oct 20, Dec 1 and Dec 5 of the same year," he said.
He added that the messages were obtained from the mobile phones seized during the investigation – one with an iCloud account registered under Ismanira and the Huawei device linked to a Google account under Zaim.
The witness said the conversations, under contact names "Baby Sayang" and "Manja" were extracted from the two phones and two SIM cards handed over by the investigating officer.
Reading out his witness statement, Zaidi said the investigating officer had instructed him to retrieve deleted videos, messages and images from the mobile phones.
He testified that he conducted the analysis after receiving the case items and subsequently prepared an Examination Report dated June 6, 2024.
The prosecution was handled by deputy public prosecutors Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin and Nur Sabrina Zubairi, while lawyer Haresh Mahadevan represented both accused.
On June 13 last year, the couple pleaded not guilty to a charge of neglecting their six-year-old autistic son in a manner likely to cause him physical harm between noon on Dec 5 and 9.55 pm on Dec 6, 2023, at Jalan PJU Damansara Damai.
The charge, framed under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 and punishable under Section 31(1) of the same Act, read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, carries a maximum fine of RM50,000, imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both, upon conviction.
On Dec 6, 2023, Zayn Rayyan's body was discovered in a stream near his home at Apartment Idaman, Damansara Damai, a day after he was reported missing.
The child is believed to have been murdered, with a post-mortem revealing injuries to his neck and body consistent with self-defence wounds.
The trial before judge Dr Syahliza Warnoh continues tomorrow.