PETALING JAYA: Zaim Ikhwan Zahari, the father of the late Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matin, will remain a free man following the prosecution’s withdrawal of its appeal against his acquittal.
Kosmo reported lawyer Haresh Mahadevan as saying the appeal was against a Petaling Jaya sessions court ruling on July 21, 2025, clearing Zaim of a charge of child neglect.
The sessions court had ruled that the prosecution did not have enough evidence to require Zaim, 31, to enter his defence.
Zaim’s wife, Ismanira Abdul Manaf, 31, remains in prison after the Shah Alam High Court rejected her request on Dec 23 last year to stay her five-year prison term for child neglect.
The High Court ruled that Ismanira’s act of allowing the boy to walk behind her without sufficient supervision had led to his disappearance and eventual death.
Both Ismanira and Zaim were charged in 2024 with neglecting Zayn in a manner likely to cause him physical harm.