[UPDATED] High Court orders police to reopen investigation into Dutch model Ivana Smit's death

New Straits Times

7 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has ordered the police to recommence the investigation into the death of Dutch model Ivana Esther Robert Smit, who was found dead after falling from the 20th floor of a condominium here in 2017.
Judge Roz Mawar Rozain also ordered the police to brief the Attorney-General's Chambers (A-GC) every three months on the progress of the investigation.
The A-GC is to determine the sufficiency of the evidence and the next course of action.
Roz Mawar said this in her judgment after awarding Smit's mother, Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, RM1.1 million in damages against the Inspector-General of Police, the case's investigating officer, and the government.
She said police had been negligent in their investigation and had failed to comply with a 2019 High Court order to properly reinvestigate the case.
In 2019, then High Court judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah directed A-GC to order the police to investigate the cause of Ivana's death, after setting aside the inquest verdict that classified her death as a 'misadventure' and reclassifying it as death caused by a person or persons known or unknown.
She said the 2019 High Court order was clear and straightforward, as it directed the case to be reclassified as a death caused by person or persons unknown and required the A-GC to instruct the police to reopen the investigation as a murder case.
Roz Mawar said following the previous High Court order, the police had established a specialised task force to re-investigate the case.
"This court observes that the defendants failed to ensure the effective operation and accountability of this investigative mechanism.
"The evidence indicates that the task force did not produce substantive results or provide meaningful updates to the interested parties, particularly the plaintiff and the deceased's family.
"The court recognises that investigations may take time to yield results, but the apparent lack of transparency and accountability in the task force's operations, combined with the absence of any demonstrable progress or communication, suggests a failure to properly manage and execute the reinvestigation mandate.
"This conduct, when viewed alongside the earlier investigative deficiencies, demonstrates a pattern of deficient performance of statutory duties that has resulted in prejudice to the plaintiff's legitimate interests in obtaining closure and understanding regarding her daughter's tragic death," she said in her judgment today.
However, Roz Mawar stressed that her findings should not be seen as a criticism of the police force as a whole.
She said the judgment highlights specific institutional failures that need to be addressed, rather than casting blame on the entire force.
"The awards are meant to serve both compensatory and deterrent purposes, underscoring the need for public authorities to carry out their duties with proper diligence and accountability."
Smit, who was at the home of American couple Alexander William Johnson and Laura Almazkyzy, was allegedly partying with the couple before she fell to her death.
She fell from the 20th floor, and her naked body was found on a sixth-floor balcony at 10am.
Smit, who had dual Dutch and Belgian citizenship, was the second runner-up in the Malaysia Supermodel Search 2014 when she was 15.