Malaysian court orders new probe into Dutch teenager's death

News24

4 days ago

A Malaysian court has ordered police to resume a probe into the death of Dutch teenager Ivana Smit, vindicating her family's allegations of a botched investigation into the eight-year-old case.
Awarding Smit's mother more than one million ringgit ($260,000) in damages, the Malaysian High Court found a "profound failure" in how police handled the 2017 case, according to court documents seen by AFP on Wednesday.
Judge Roz Mawar Rozain said numerous investigative errors were made from the start, including failure to preserve evidence, mishandling a potential crime scene and allowing a couple allegedly at the site to leave the country.
"This case represents a profound failure of Malaysia's law enforcement system," Roz Mawar wrote in her judgment.
"The death of an 18-year-old young woman under suspicious circumstances should have prompted the most thorough and professional investigation.
Instead, the evidence reveals a litany of failures, incompetence and disregard for proper procedure," the judge ruled.
Smit's death made headlines after she plunged to her death from a 20th-floor Kuala Lumpur condominium where she had reportedly partied with an American and his Kazakh wife.
Initially, police ruled the case a suicide, but in 2019, the Malaysian High Court, based on an autopsy report, overturned the finding and determined that "persons known or unknown" were involved in Smit's death.
While a new probe was ordered, the case stalled.
"The investigation has effectively come to a standstill with no meaningful progress since 2019," Judge Roz Mawar said.
In 2020, Smit's mother filed a civil suit against four defendants, including an investigating officer, the police and the Malaysian government, claiming incompetence.
On Tuesday, Judge Roz Mawar agreed, pointing to a series of errors, including allowing the couple to leave the country, despite the DNA evidence found under Smit's fingernails.
Smit's mother, "aside from handling her own grief, has had to endure years of institutional indifference and investigative failure," the judge said.
She ordered the defendants to pay 1.1 million ringgit in damages.
"It is the responsibility of the state to protect human life and provide reparations when appropriate," the judge said.
"The defendants have failed in this fundamental duty."
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