New leads led to the arrest of the parents of murdered autistic boy Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin, says their lawyer Mahmud Abdul Jumaat
“The police mentioned (new leads) during the remand application proceeding in front of Magistrate Ainaa Mohd Kamal,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of new evidence or conflicting statements, Mahmud suggested this might have prompted the arrests.
“When I saw them, they were in shock and did not expect to be named suspects in their son’s murder.
“I also did not expect this. I believe the whole country is shocked, but I believe the police are requesting for the remand to complete their investigation,” he said.
Mahmud urged the public not to speculate about the arrest and called for patience and prayers for the family.
“The investigation is still in the remand period. We do not know who will be charged eventually,” he said.
Selangor police chief Comm Datuk Hussein Omar Khan stated that the suspects have been remanded until Friday (June 7) to assist the ongoing investigation into their son’s murder.
“They have been remanded to assist the investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code. They were arrested based on intelligence and leads gathered from the first day (of investigation) until now,” he said.
The parents were brought to the Petaling Jaya Magistrate’s Court in a police vehicle around 8:50 am on Saturday, dressed in orange lockup garments, for the remand application before Magistrate Azura Mohd Saad. Several family members were present at the courthouse yard from early morning.
The parents were initially detained at around 10:05 am on Friday (May 31) in Puncak Alam.
They are being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for the murder of their eldest son.
On Dec 5 last year, the six-year-old Zayn Rayyan was reported missing in Damansara Damai and his dead body was found near a stream about 200m from his home at Apartment Idaman.
Police initially suspected that the boy had drowned, but reclassified their investigation to murder after a post-mortem revealed that he was strangled.
During the course of the investigation, police’s forensic teams combed the location where the body was found as well as the surrounding areas in Damansara Damai.
A mass DNA screening was also conducted, and 228 samples were collected.
Witnesses, including those who claimed to have last seen the boy alive, were also brought to the scene to assist investigators.