High Court orders govt to pay RM1.1m over bungled Dutch model death probe

Summary

• The High Court ordered the government to pay RM1.1 million in damages to Dutch model Ivana Smit’s family, ruling that police failed to properly investigate her 2017 death in Kuala Lumpur.

• Judge Roz Mawar said investigations remained stagnant since 2019, despite a judicial directive to probe the case.

The High Court ruled that the government must pay RM1.1 million in compensation to Dutch model Ivana Smit’s family following the authorities’ failure to properly investigate her 2017 death in Kuala Lumpur.

According to Free Malaysia Today, judge Roz Mawar Rozain found the government and police guilty of negligence in carrying out their responsibilities.

The government was reportedly ordered to pay RM500,000 in general damages, RM600,000 in aggravated and exemplary damages, and costs of RM100,000.

Smit’s mother, Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen had launched legal proceedings in 2020, alleging that the police, home minister, Dang Wangi investigating officer Faizal, and the government had breached their statutory duties and were negligent in their investigation into the 18-year-old’s death.

In her judgment, Roz Mawar reportedly said Faizal had “arbitrarily classified Smit’s death as suicide” despite the presence of circumstantial evidence suggesting the possibility of homicide.

The judge said the initial investigating officer, Hazliza Hamdan, raised suspicions of foul play, but Faizal, who was her superior, dismissed them.

“The IO (Faizal) admitted that despite receiving the forensic report stating that (suspect) Alex Johnson’s DNA was found under the deceased’s nails, no immediate action was taken to arrest Alex and his wife Luna Almaz,” she said.

According to Roz Mawar, Faizal attributed the presence of Johnson’s DNA to sexual activity with the deceased.

She also pointed out that in 2019, another High Court instructed the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) to order the police to probe Smit’s death. However, despite the court order, Roz Mawar said the defendants (including Faizal) did not properly follow through on this instruction.

“A task force was set up to probe the deceased’s death, yet the IO was retained as a member.

“In his testimony, he told the court that investigations were still ongoing, but he failed to show the court what was the progress.

“The court finds that this investigation has been stagnant since 2019,” Roz Mawar said.

She also imposed a five percent annual interest on the damages granted, from the date of judgment until the full and final settlement.

On Dec 7, 2017, Smit’s body was discovered on the balcony of a sixth-floor unit of CapSquare Residence in Kuala Lumpur, 14 floors below the 20th-floor unit of Johnson and Almaz.

The Malaysian authorities also issued an Interpol Blue Notice to track down the foreign couple in October 2024.

Since leaving Malaysia in early 2018, the couple have been interviewed by international media, admitting to sexual relations with Smit before the incident, but denied being responsible for her death.

On March 8, 2019, the Kuala Lumpur Coroner’s Court ruled the model’s death a misadventure.

However, in November of the same year, the Kuala Lumpur High Court overturned the coroner’s judgment.

Family contented with judgment

In a statement, lawyer Sankar Nair, who represented Verstappen, said today’s ruling set a “powerful precedent for institutional accountability in the investigation of suspicious deaths”.

“This judgment stands as a landmark and exemplary pronouncement on the duties owed by senior police officials and public authorities in conducting proper investigations into unnatural and suspicious deaths.

“It affirms the foundational principle that no one is above the law, not even those entrusted with upholding it.

“The court has rightly and fearlessly confronted the negligence, misfeasance, malfeasance, and nonfeasance in the handling of the investigation into the tragic death of Ivana Smit.

“After more than eight years of grief, unanswered questions, and unrelenting legal struggle, justice has finally prevailed, not only for Ivana and her family, but for the rule of law in Malaysia.”

Sankara also expressed hope that the AGC would not appeal today’s verdict, calling for a moment of reflection on the pain endured by Smit’s family.

“The findings are deeply anchored in evidence, law, and constitutional principle, and I am confident that the superior courts will find no cause for appellate intervention,” he added.

Apart from Sankara, lawyers Narendran Letchiemanan and Wong Guo Jin also represented Verstappen.

‘We are not crazy’

Sankara also shared a statement issued by a Verstappen family member.

“Karin (Mum Christina) and Dad Marcel (and of course the rest of the family) are very content that the judge saw the tremendous errors that were made for what they are.

“The money awarded is of no consequence, it is far more important that we got recognition from Malaysia that we are not crazy for saying what we were saying for almost eight years.

“We won’t get Ivana back, but at least we have the satisfaction that a new investigation was ordered and the monsters responsible cannot rest easy,” the statement read.

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