Auni Afiaqah Abas, 30, said she and her brother began looking for the six-year-old autistic boy at about 6.30pm on Dec 5, 2023 after she returned from work.

“I heard Zayn Rayyan’s voice. It sounded as if he wanted to free himself from someone’s grasp,” she claimed when cross-examined by lawyer Haresh Mahadevan.

Auni, 30, said she knew Zayn Rayyan’s voice well, having cared for him and his younger brother, Mateen, who is also autistic, for about a year.

The 17th prosecution witness, who lived at Block F, testified that she heard the voice coming from Block R and that several children nearby also confirmed hearing his voice.

At the time, Zayn Rayyan’s parents, Ismanira Abdul Manaf and Zaim Ikhwan Zahari, had gone to lodge a missing person’s report at the Damansara Damai police station.

Auni said she told police about the matter and later informed a news portal about it during an interview.

She added that police also took multiple statements from her as they were dissatisfied with her responses.

“I cannot remember how many times the police came, but it was all about my role as the boy’s babysitter,” she said, adding that she was consistent in her statements.

According to Auni, Ismanira was a loving mother and was the only one who could calm Zayn Rayyan during his tantrums.

During examination-in-chief by deputy public prosecutor Aqharie Durranie Aziz, Auni said Ismanira usually dropped Zayn Rayyan at her home around 1pm daily after picking him up from school.

On Dec 5, 2023, she said Ismanira came to her house around 1pm and informed her that Zayn Rayyan had been missing for about an hour.

Ismanira had told police that Zayn Rayyan had been difficult and refused to follow her instructions before he disappeared on that day. She was walking ahead and he had been following behind, she had said.

Ismanira and Zaim, both 30, claimed trial to a charge of child neglect on June 13 last year. The offence allegedly occurred at PJU Damansara Damai between 12pm on Dec 5 and 9.55pm on Dec 6, 2023.

The charge is framed under Section 31(1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 which carries a maximum fine of RM50,000, imprisonment of up to 20 years, or both, upon conviction.

Zayn Rayyan was reported missing on Dec 5, 2023 and his body was discovered in a stream near his home the following day. He is believed to have been murdered, after an autopsy revealed injuries to his neck and body, consistent with self-defence.

The trial continues tomorrow.