KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 28 — The devastating murder of Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin, an autistic boy whose lifeless body was found in a stream near his home at Apartment Idaman, Damansara Damai here on December 6, is among the criminal cases that caught public attention in 2023.

A day before the tragic discovery, his mother Ismanira Abdul Manaf, 28, shared on Facebook that her son had gone missing while they were climbing the stairs to their home in Block R after going to the nearby playground.

Though initially classified as a missing child and sudden death case, the autopsy results revealed that the six-year-old boy was actually murdered based on defensive wounds found on his body.

The victim, who was a pupil at Sekolah Kebangsaan Damansara Damai 2, is believed to have been killed elsewhere before his body was dumped in the stream after the police launched an extensive search for the suspect by conducting house-to-house inspections.

As of December 23, authorities have recorded statements from 225 individuals and collected 248 DNA samples. They have also sought Interpol’s assistance to unravel the mystery behind the child’s murder case, which, as of press time, remains unsolved.

This year also saw some brutal murder cases in which the perpetrators repeatedly stabbed or slashed their victims.

On December 9, an elderly married couple were found dead at their home in Kampung Sungai Penchala here, suspected to have been stabbed by their son during an argument.

Police sources said that the couple, 82 and 72, were found lying in pools of blood in the living room after an argument with their son, 42, a suspected drug addict, occurred at around 7pm.

On December 18, a woman was fatally stabbed multiple times by her lover at Jalan Bayu Tinggi 5, Taman Chi Liung, Klang, Selangor, believed to be motivated by jealousy.

The country was also gripped by shock over the case involving a 47-year-old man who was charged in the Magistrate’s Court in Muar on June 28 with killing his 73-year-old mother in Taman Temiang Utama, Muar, Johor on June 18.

Most recently, a 19-year-old man was killed during a fight with his girlfriend’s brother, and his body was found buried in an undergrowth behind the suspect’s home in Kampung Sungai Choh, Rawang, here on December 23.

So far, police have arrested eight individuals, including three women aged between 19 and 45, to assist in the investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

Meanwhile, the influx of illegal immigrants in the country, which caused many problems, including crimes, also received the attention of the Royal Malaysia Police’s (PDRM) top brass.

On December 21, security forces conducted a surprise raid on ‘Mini Dhaka’ at Jalan Silang in the federal capital and apprehended 1,101 illegal immigrants for various offences.

The operation, which began at 11am and involved 1,138 officers and personnel from the Internal Security and Public Order Department, General Operations Force, Federal Reserve Unit and K9 Unit, won praise from the people, who had grown sick of the arrogant behaviour of some foreigners in the area.

This year, the police also successfully dismantled drug syndicates, with the most recent featuring the arrest of a man with the title ‘Datuk’, believed to be the mastermind behind Sabah’s largest drug ring, in a series of raids in Kota Kinabalu, Tawau and Semporna on December 25.

The man, who also serves as the patron of a non-governmental organisation to mask the illegal activities conducted since 2015, was nabbed alongside nine other syndicate members by the Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department and the Eastern Sabah Security Command team.

Deputy Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Ayob Khan Mydin Pitchay, in a special press conference, said the syndicate was also found to be involved in money laundering through various luxurious businesses operated by its members, including oil and gas companies and a chain of restaurants.

On November 18, the Melaka police successfully crippled a drug trafficking syndicate with the seizure of various drugs estimated to be worth RM6.94 million following the arrest of three men aged 27 to 51.

At the same time, the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal remained a public focus when the company’s former lawyer, Jasmine Loo Ai Swan, was arrested by the police on July 7, while former Goldman Sachs banker Roger Ng Chong Hwa, who was believed to have played a key role in the embezzlement of 1MDB fund, arrived from the United States on October 8 to assist investigations into the case, after being sentenced to 10 years in prison in New York.

With Loo’s arrest, Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Razarudin Husain, on August 16, reportedly said that more assets linked to the 1MDB case would be confiscated and forfeited to the government through a court process.

Meanwhile, this year saw new leadership transitions within both PDRM and the Malaysian Armed Forces following the mandatory retirements of their former chiefs.

On June 21, Razarudin, previously serving as Deputy Inspector-General of Police, was appointed as the new IGP, effective June 23, to replace Tan Sri Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani.

Three months later, on September 6, General Tan Sri Mohammad Ab Rahman was appointed the 22nd Chief of Defence Force, taking over from General Tan Sri Affendi Buang. — Bernama