Autistic child murder case | Accused of neglect of care by defendant, 27 prosecution witnesses have no evidence

(Petaling Jaya, 23rd) The investigating officer of the murder case of 6-year-old autistic boy Zain Lean confirmed that the prosecution's 27 witnesses did not provide any evidence to prove that Zain Lean's parents neglected the deceased, but also disagreed with the defense lawyer's statement that the investigation of the case was sloppy.

Mohafiz (38 years old), then senior criminal investigating officer of the Petaling Jaya police headquarters, agreed with the defendant's lawyer that according to the medical report, Zain Lean was not a victim of abuse and was not neglected.

When Mohafiz was questioned by the defendant's lawyer Hares, he said that none of the 27 witnesses of the prosecution saw the two defendants, the deceased's mother Ismanila and father Zain Iwan, appear near the river where the deceased's body was found.

Zain Iwan (left) and Ismanila (right) attend the hearing at the Sessions Court.

But when Hares asked Mohafiz if he knew that none of the prosecution witnesses said they saw the two defendants neglecting Zainlain on Dec 5 and 6, 2023, Mohafiz replied: "I'm not sure."

Haarez argued that the witnesses were not only asked to associate themselves with the defendants and frame them, but also to play a role in distorting the facts in court in order to convict the two defendants. Mohafiz responded: "Not true."

Chainlian went missing on his way home from school by his mother at noon on December 5, 2023. The police found the body of the young child at 10 pm the next day in a river about 200 meters away from his home in Damansara Damai.

After the forensic autopsy, it was found that there were obvious strangulation marks on Chainlian's neck and defensive scars on his body. The police changed the drowning death case into a murder investigation.

The deceased's parents were charged with neglecting their child to the extent likely to cause bodily harm to the child, in violation of Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001. They are liable to a fine of up to RM50,000 or imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both, upon conviction.