KUALA LUMPUR: The investigation into the tragic murder of autistic child Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin took another startling turn with the arrest of his paternal grandparents.
Selangor police chief Datuk Hussein Omar Khan confirmed the couple's detention yesterday at 2.30pm, stating that their remand application would be processed in the Petaling Jaya court today.
The development adds to the ongoing intrigue surrounding the case, which has captured the attention of Malaysians over the past 190 days since Zayn Rayyan's body was discovered near his home at Apartment Idaman in Kota Damansara.
It was Zayn's mother, who filed a police report on Dec 6 last year, reporting her six-year-old son missing.
Two days later, autopsy results unveiled signs of self-defense wounds on Zayn Rayyan's body, leading authorities to classify his death as murder.
Since then, periodic updates from the police have kept Malaysians informed of the case's progress.
On Dec 12, police revealed tracing movements related to the murder through analysis of dashboard camera recordings.
Subsequently, on Dec 23, authorities sought Interpol's assistance, sending evidence for cross-checking with their database.
By Jan 9, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain announced that the investigation was 90 per cent complete, and by Jan 29, statements from more than 200 individuals had been recorded.
But by May 8, despite no new leads, police reaffirmed the case's active status.
However, things intensified on May 31 when Zayn's mother, 28, and father, were suddenly arrested.
They were remanded from June 1 until 7.
Their seven-day remand order was extended for six more days on June 8 due to discrepancies in their statements.
During this time, on June 10, police took the mother to the location where Zayn Rayyan's body was discovered, believed to be for re-enactment purposes.
With the expiration of their remand order yesterday, Zayn's mother was escorted to the court complex.
Her counsels, Fahmi Abd Moin and Mahmud Jumaat, objected to the police's attempt to record her guilty plea, saying that no plea was made during the proceedings.
Fahmi said an investigating officer had brought the mother to the magistrate's court with the purpose of extracting a guilty plea from her.
As the couple's 13-day remand order to facilitate murder investigations expires, Fahmi said there would be no more extensions.
"There will no more extension to the remand order," Fahmi was recorded as saying.
The media spotlight today will likely focus on whether the couple will be charged and the developments related to the detention of the grandparents.