Rashidah Rajali, 37, who lives on the same floor as Zayn Rayyan’s family at Apartment Idaman, Damansara Damai, said this when cross-examined by lawyer Haresh Mahadevan during the trial of Zayn Rayyan’s parents Ismanira Abdul Manaf and Zaim Ikhwan Zahari, who have been charged with child neglect.

Haresh: I put it to you that you did not tell the police about the change in attire by Ismanira Abdul Manaf.

Rashidah: No, I told the police about it during the investigation.

The prosecution’s 16th witness said she was called by police at least two times, but could not remember the dates.

During examination-in-chief on Feb 18, Rashidah said she bumped into Ismanira about 12.15pm on Dec 5, 2023, while she was heading downstairs to send her eldest child to school.

Rashidah said Ismanira was wearing a black headscarf, a white blouse and either black palazzo pants or a skirt.

She said after dropping off her child at school, she came home around 12.35pm and again saw Ismanira, who was walking down to the first floor.

Rashidah said she remembered that Ismanira was in a patterned dark hue headscarf.

On Feb 5, a former investigating officer at the Petaling Jaya police headquarters, Nina Syamimi Syamsuddin, 33, testified that when Ismanira was having her statement recorded, she had said that Zayn Rayyan had refused to go inside upon returning home on Dec 5, 2023, as he wanted to play on the swing.

Nina testified that Ismanira had said she was climbing the stairs and the child was walking behind her on that day.

Ismanira, she testified, had said that she was holding shopping bags in both hands at the time of the incident. When Ismanira realised she couldn’t hear her child’s footsteps, she placed the bags on the stairs, turned around, and discovered that he was missing.

Nina, the fourth prosecution witness, had testified that Ismanira searched around Block R until 1pm before contacting her husband to inform him that their child was missing.

Further cross-examined by Haresh, Rashidah said she volunteered all information to a reporter, including that the mother appeared to be looking for someone soon after her son went missing.

“However, I omitted (the information) about the scarf as this was not asked during the interview,” she said.

The witness disagreed with Haresh that the human memory fades over time.

Haresh: Two weeks ago, an interpreter assisted you at least three times in referring to documents. Do you remember the colour of her blouse?

Rashidah: I can’t remember.

On June 13, 2024, Ismanira and Zaim, both 30, pleaded not guilty at the sessions court here to a charge of neglecting their six-year-old autistic son in a manner likely to cause him physical harm between noon on Dec 5 and 9.55pm on Dec 6, 2023, at Jalan PJU Damansara Damai.

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 was believed to have been murdered after an autopsy revealed injuries to his neck and body, consistent with self-defence.

The trial before judge Syahliza Warnoh continues.