PETALING JAYA: The Attorney-General's Chambers (A-GC) has rejected the representation submitted by the parents of late autistic boy Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin, who had sought to have the joint child neglect charges against them withdrawn.
Sessions Court judge Dr Syahliza Warnoh was today informed of the dismissal by deputy public prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin.
"We referred the representation letter filed by the previous lawyer of the accused to the A-GC, and it has been rejected. The new lawyers have been informed," she said.
"We will proceed with the trial," she added.
The parents of Zayn Rayyan, Zaim Ikhwan Zahari and Ismanira Abdul Manaf, 29, appeared calm and composed in the dock, dressed in all-black outfits.
Their representation was submitted to the A-GC on Nov 19 by their previous lawyer, Fahmi Abd Moin.
Raja Zaizul Faridah requested that the court set another mention date to allow the prosecution to update all necessary documents before the trial begins.
She proposed Jan 10 for the mention, which was mutually agreed upon by both the prosecution and the defence.
Raja Zaizul Faridah said that there were compact discs (CDs) still with the Forensic Department that had yet to be provided to the defence.
The couple's lawyer, Haresh Mahadevan, informed the court that, in addition to the CDs, they had not yet received a forensic report.
"This forensic report is linked to the post-mortem report, which includes samples taken from the boy's body for analysis. We request that this report be provided to us," he said.
In response, Raja Zaizul Faridah assured the court that the prosecution would hand over all relevant documents to the defence before Jan 10, which would be used during the trial.
During the proceedings, Haresh also requested the court to vacate a set of trial dates in January, which had previously been scheduled, as they had other proceedings in Negri Sembilan.
The court agreed to Jan 10 for mention and ordered the prosecution to handover all documents to the defence before the said date.
The judge set a 15-day trial to begin from Feb 3 to 7; Feb 17 to 21; and March 10 to 14.
The prosecution plans to call 15 witnesses to testify.
The couple is currently out on a RM10,000 bail each.
In June, they claimed trial to a joint charge of neglect which may have caused physical injury to their eldest son,6.
They pleaded not guilty to the alleged offence committed from 12pm on Dec 5 until about 9.55pm on Dec 6 last year around the area of Jalan PJU 10/1 in Damansara Damai.
The charge under Section 31 (1)(a) of the Child Act 2001 is punishable under Section 31(1) of the same Act read with Section 34 of the Penal Code.
It carries a maximum fine of RM50,000 or jail not more than 20 years or both upon conviction.
The court, shall, in addition to any punishment specified in subsection (1), order the person convicted of an offence to execute a bond with sureties to be of good behaviour for such period as the court thinks fit and to perform community service.
Zayn Rayyan was said to have gone missing before his body was found at a stream in Damansara Damai in December last year.
His body was found about 200-metres from his home by members of the public who participated in the search operation.
He was confirmed to have been killed based on the autopsy conducted, which found injuries to his neck and body.