Govt seeks to overturn 'negligence' verdict on probe into model's death

Authorities have filed a notice at the appellate court seeking to overturn a High Court verdict that found them negligent in investigating Dutch model Ivana Smit’s death in 2017.

According to the lawyer Sankara Nair, who is representing Smit’s mother, Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, the notice of appeal was filed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers yesterday, on behalf of the inspector-general of police, investigating officer Faizal Abdullah, the home minister, and the Malaysian government.

“Our firm continues to act for Verstappen in defending the High Court’s decision, and we remain committed to ensuring that justice is pursued transparently and vigorously,” he said in a statement today.

Smit was found dead on the balcony of a Kuala Lumpur condominium on Dec 7, 2017.

Following a lawsuit by her mother, the High Court in Kuala Lumpur ruled that the four respondents were liable for a “litany of failures” in handling in investigating the 18-year-old’s death.

READ MORE: How badly did police botch investigation into model’s death?

Among others, judge Roz Mawar Rozain found the police had prematurely classified the case as suicide before a thorough forensic investigation and despite clear signs of foul play.

The police had also failed to secure the crime scene and crucial evidence, and did not take meaningful steps to comply with a 2019 court order to reopen the investigation as a murder investigation.

Roz Mawar awarded Verstappen RM1.1 million in damages and ordered the police to conduct a full investigation in accordance with the 2019 court order and report its progress to the Attorney-General’s Chambers every three months.

It also ordered Faizal to be removed as lead investigator of the special task force heading the investigation, citing a clear conflict of interest as he also led the initial investigation of the case.

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