Govt, three others ordered to pay RM1.1mil to family of Dutch model Ivana Smit

The Star

The High Court in Kuala Lumpur has ordered the government and three others to pay RM1.1mil to the family of Dutch model Ivana Smit for failing to conduct a proper investigation into her death eight years ago.  Justice Roz Mawar Rozain stated that the police breached their duty of care in handling the investigation.  Read more at https://tinyurl.com/5h6f5ttf  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

Transcript

00:00The KL High Court has ordered the government and three others to pay 1.1 million ringgit

00:07to the family of Dutch model Ivana Smit for failing to conduct a proper investigation into

00:13her death eight years ago. In her judgment on Tuesday, Justice Roz Mawarrozayin stated that

00:20the police had breached their duty of care in handling the investigation. She said the case

00:24represented a profound failure of Malaysia's law enforcement system. The judge highlighted

00:30premature classification, crime scene, management errors, evidence preservation failures, inadequate

00:37witness and suspect handling, foreign evidence neglect and expert evidence dismissal. She

00:44stated that these are simple and clear pieces that corroborate her finding that there were

00:49breaches of the duty of care. Smit, then 18, was found dead on the sixth floor of Cap Square

00:55residence on December 7, 2017, after falling from the 20th floor of a condominium unit owned

01:03by an American couple, Alex Johnson and Luna Almaskizi. On November 20, 2020, Smit's mother

01:11filed a civil action against the IGP, Dangwangi investigating officer ASP Faizal Abdullah, the

01:19home minister, and the government over alleged mishandling of Smit's death investigation. Justice

01:25Roz Mawar noted evidence that Johnson's DNA was found in Smit's fingernails, based on a DNA

01:31report dated February 8, 2018. Despite this crucial evidence, Johnson and Almaskizi were permitted

01:39to leave Malaysia on March 29, 2018, approximately one month after the report was available.

01:46Justice Roz Mawar also found that the plaintiff was a direct victim, who suffered prolonged emotional

01:52and psychological trauma due to the defendant's negligence. The defendants were ordered to pay

01:57500,000 ringgit in general damages, 300,000 ringgit in aggravated damages, and 300,000 ringgit

02:04in exemplary damages to Smit's mother. Lawyer S. N. Nair, representing the Smit family, said

02:11it was a landmark case in respect of police accountability and responsibility in conducting

02:16their duties. Also present at the court was the Dutch ambassador to Malaysia, Jacques Werner.

02:23So, we are extremely happy on the decision by this learned judge. She has, I must say, taken

02:34an exemplary move to go into each and every detail which I haven't seen in my legal career.

02:40And I therefore commend her for her sense of objectivity and her sense of illustriousness.

02:47So, in that sense, the family is very happy, extremely happy with the decision, but also

02:52sad that it took so long. But I think they feel vindicated because the daughter's mama

03:00didala dibusukan by the authorities, by the investigator, and also in the inquest by certain witnesses.

03:08It was as if she was very loose morals, would go off anybody. That was all not right. And

03:16so, this was clear vindication of a young 18-year-old girl who wanted to just go on with a beautiful

03:23life. So, it's very sad. And I hope this will also be a landmark case for Malaysians in respect

03:32of policemen. Accountability and responsibility in conducting their duties and responsibilities

03:39in a fair manner within the confines of the law.

03:42It was important to be here at the invitation of the lawyer of the family of the deceased,

03:52Ivana Smith. And I think this is probably the best possible outcome under the circumstances.

03:59It's for the family. The most important thing is to get closure on this case. It's been dragging

04:04on for a very long time. And so, I think this is an important step towards, well, receiving

04:11justice and nearing closure on this important case.

04:16Interestingly, this is the first time I've come across where a learned judge has ordered

04:22the AG to report every three months. Sorry, the police to report to AGC every three months,

04:31which is meaning the court has taken serious cognizance that it must carry on and complete the investigation

04:38so that the end of it will be done.

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