Zayn Rayyan: Mother should be fined instead of jailed, court hears

 

Ismanira’s lawyer says the 5-year jail term is excessive and argues that her client should not be punished for injuries inflicted by an unknown third party. NSTP/FILE PIC

SHAH ALAM: Ismanira Abdul Manaf should be fined instead of serving a 5-year jail sentence for neglecting her late autistic son, Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matin, her lawyer told the High Court today.

Defence lawyer Tiara Katrina Fuad argued that the sentence effectively punished the 31-year-old mother for violence inflicted on her 6-year-old son by an unknown third party.

She said Petaling Jaya Sessions Court judge Dr Syahliza Warnoh had accepted that Ismanira did not personally injure Zayn Rayyan, who was found dead with multiple injuries in December 2023.

Ismanira is appealing against her conviction and 5-year jail sentence, seeking to be acquitted and discharged.

The prosecution, led by deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin, has filed a cross-appeal seeking a heavier sentence.

Katrina said the serious injuries suffered by Zayn Rayyan had been relied upon to aggravate the sentence imposed on Ismanira under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001.

"That means she was punished for violence committed by an unknown third party," she said.

She argued that the allegation that Ismanira's conduct had caused the loss of the boy's life was neither the offence charged nor proven against her.

Katrina said former investigating officer Inspector Nina Syamimi Syamsuddin, the fourth prosecution witness, had testified that she received a phone call in December 2023 informing her that Zayn Rayyan had been found at Block R.

However, the identity and telephone number of the caller were not recorded in the investigation diary.

"This was another material lead which was left uninvestigated," she said.

Ismanira was charged with committing the offence between noon on Dec 5 and 9.55pm on Dec 6, 2023, in the area surrounding Block R, Apartment Idaman, Damansara Damai, and a nearby stream.

Zayn Rayyan was reported missing from Block R on Dec 5, 2023, after Ismanira picked him up from school at about noon.

His body was found the next day in a stream about 200 metres from their home.

Katrina argued that the evidence could support an inference that Zayn Rayyan had suddenly become separated from his mother, remained alive for a considerable period and subsequently came into contact with an unknown third party.

She said the Sessions Court judge had erred in finding that the injuries were caused by Ismanira allowing Zayn Rayyan to walk behind her before he went missing.

"The prosecution's case ultimately depends upon hindsight. The fact that the deceased subsequently disappeared and was later found injured cannot retrospectively convert Ismanira's act of allowing him to walk behind her into criminal neglect.

"The relevant question is whether Ismanira's conduct at the time amounted to neglect under Section 31(1)(a) of the Act," she said.

Katrina also submitted that the judge had erred in relying on the evidence of the 28th prosecution witness, senior investigating officer Deputy Superintendent Mohd Hafizee Ismail, who concluded that Ismanira had neglected Zayn Rayyan.

She said Hafizee was the only prosecution witness who expressly characterised Ismanira's conduct as neglect.

"SP28 treated the fact that the deceased was no longer behind the appellant as proof that the appellant had left the deceased alone.

"The appellant respectfully submits that this was not evidence of neglect. It was SP28's conclusion based on the fact that the deceased had disappeared. It was an inference he drew rather than something he had personally witnessed," she said.

The key issue, she said, was whether what Hafizee regarded as a momentary lapse in supervision, without more, amounted to neglect under the Act.

"SP28 did not identify any investigative fact establishing that the appellant had ceased supervising the deceased, knowingly left him unattended, or acted in a manner likely to cause physical injury," she said.

Co-counsel Lavanesh Haresh said the jail term was manifestly excessive and urged the High Court to impose a fine instead.

"She has been in prison for 10 months. This is a second punishment for her after losing Zayn Rayyan in the incident," he said.

However, Raja Zaizul Faridah urged the court to impose a longer jail term on Ismanira, citing that she was the mother of the victim.

After hearing the submissions, Judge Noor Hisham Ismail set Sept 28 to deliver his decision.

Also appearing for the prosecution were deputy public prosecutors Aqharie Durranie Aziz, Kamarul Iman Ahmad Sapian and Ahmad Iqbal Azman.

The other defence lawyers were Haresh Mahadevan, Haijan Omar and Asyraaf Abu Bakar Hamzah. - NST