During examination, Ismanira Abdul Manaf’s lawyer Haresh Mahadevan asked her to clarify the meaning of the message.

“Those words were about me,” she said.

“I wasn’t referring to my son. I panicked,  was sad and rushing around trying to find him.

“I really needed my husband’s attention, so I sent him that message to get him to immediately come home and help me.”

Ismanira, 30, was testifying in her defence against a charge of neglecting her six-year-old autistic child in a manner likely to cause him physical harm.

The offence allegedly occurred at PJU Damansara Damai between noon on Dec 5, 2023, when the boy was said to have gone missing, and 9.55pm the following day, when his body was discovered in a stream near his home at Apartment Idaman in Damansara Damai.

On Monday, Ismanira’s husband Zaim Ikhwan Zahari, 30, was acquitted of the same charge after the prosecution failed to prove a prima facie case against him.

Previously, an analyst from the police forensics lab, Zaidi Abu Hassan, testified that he had extracted WhatsApp messages from two phones allegedly belonging to the couple which included the said message.

They were all sent on the day Zayn went missing.

Zaidi said he extracted the messages using a mobile data recovery software known as XRY.

The defence team also comprises lawyers Ramzani Idris and Lavanesh Haresh.

Deputy public prosecutors Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin, Aqharie Durranie Aziz and Nur Sabrina Zubairi are appearing for the prosecution.

The trial before judge Syahliza Warnoh continues.