KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 10 — The case involving a married couple, Zaim Ikhwan Zahari and Ismanira Abdul Manaf, who are accused of neglecting their child, Zayn Rayyan Abdul Matiin, will begin trial on February 3.

Session Court Judge, Syahliza Warnoh, set the date after the prosecution informed the court that the delivery of related documents had been completed, according to a report published in Harian Metro today.

The judge had previously scheduled the trial from February 3 to 7, February 17 to 21, and March 10 to 14, which was agreed upon by both parties.

During today’s case management proceeding, Deputy Public Prosecutor Raja Zaizul Faridah Raja Zaharudin stated that they would send the list of prosecution witnesses via email to the defence lawyers representing the two defendants.

"We will provide a list of 15 prosecution witnesses to the lawyers by email. If there are any witness statements, we will send them to the lawyers before the trial date,” she said.

Meanwhile, lawyer Haresh Mahadevan, who represents the defendants, confirmed this and informed the court that his team had received a CD containing the forensic analysis report of the defendants’ mobile phones and the victim’s post-mortem forensic report.

Also representing the couple is Ramzani Idris.

The couple arrived early in the morning around 7.45am with family members while a group of media waited outside the court compound.

On June 13, Zaim Ikhwan and Ismanira were charged with neglecting their autistic child in the area of PJU 10/1 Damansara Damai in Petaling Jaya, between 12pm on December 5 and 9.55pm on December 6, 2023.

The 29-year-old couple, who had custody of their six-year-old child, are accused of jointly neglecting the child in a manner that may have caused physical harm.

The charge was made under Section 31(1)(a) of the Children Act 2001 and read together with Section 34 of the Penal Code, carrying a maximum fine of RM50,000 or imprisonment for up to 20 years, or both, if found guilty.