The whole of Malaysia is recently coming to terms with the death of Zayn Rayyan, a 6-year-old autistic boy who was found dead near a river two days after he went missing.
While many initially assumed that it was a non-sinister case of a child who met his unfortunate end, they were proven wrong after police revealed that there were signs that he was murdered instead.
To let you catch up on what has been unfolding so far, here’s a summary of the case:
Dec 5 – Zayn goes missing
Location: Block R, Idaman Apartments
What seemed to be an ordinary Tuesday for Ismanira Abdul Manaf, the mother of Zayn, turned out to be the start of a tragedy.
According to her, she went to a shop to buy a few things before picking up her son from his school, Sekolah Kebangsaan Damansara Damai 2, and returned home.
Upon reaching the apartment, Zayn insisted on playing on the swing at the playground, where Ismanira waited patiently before convincing him to go home with her after a while.
She also said she was carrying the groceries and Zayn’s schoolbag with her son following close behind. After climbing up a few steps of the staircase, she called out his name but there was no response.
It wasn’t until she turned around did she realise that Zayn had gone missing.
In a wave of panic, Ismanira frantically searched the entire area and the apartment compound for Zayn but to no avail.
She then quickly reached out to her husband to report Zayn’s disappearance and also alerted fellow residents.
Petaling Jaya District Police Chief Assistant Commissioner Mohd Fakhrudin Abdul Hamid confirmed that a missing person report was filed on the same day of Zayn’s disappearance, where he was last seen in a white collared school uniform, black pants, and school shoes.
The police and fire department also started their search around the apartment compound and nearby river for Zayn.
Dec 6 – Zayn found dead near river
Location: A river 200 metres away from Idaman Apartments
On the second day of the search, the authorities resumed looking for Zayn from 11am until 4pm despite the rain. Unfortunately, they couldn’t find the boy after combing through nearby locations.
In the evening, the search continued with 40 police officers and 60 residents divided into teams to search door-to-door through 18 blocks at Idaman Apartments.
At 10pm, Zayn’s body was eventually found at a nearby river 200 metres away from the apartment and sent to Hospital Sungai Buloh for a post mortem. The case was subsequently classified as sudden death.
Dec 7 – Signs of murder
Location: Hospital Sungai Buloh
In a shocking turn of events, the post mortem report revealed that Zayn sustained neck injuries, which suggested that he was strangled 48 hours before his body was dumped near the river.
The report also revealed that defensive wounds were found on Zayn, indicating that he tried to fight back before he was murdered.
The case has since been classified as murder and currently being probed under Section 302 of the Penal Code.
Bukit Aman CID director Datuk Seri Mohd Shuhaily Mohd Zain said the suspect is most likely someone who was familiar with the area where Zayn’s body was dumped as it wasn’t a daily passageway.
He also called upon those with further information on the case to step forward and relay it to the police.
Zayn’s body were later laid to rest at Section 9 Muslim Cemetery in Kota Damansara.
We hope the police captures and brings the preparator to justice soon!
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