The Attorney-General’s Chambers will appeal the High Court’s refusal to delay paying RM1.1 million in damages to the late model Ivana Smit’s mother
KUALA LUMPUR: The Attorney-General’s Chambers will file an appeal against the High Court’s decision to reject the government’s application to postpone the payment of RM1.1 million in damages to the mother of Dutch model Ivana Esther Robert Smit.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar stated the AGC has strong justifications for this action.
“For now, we will file an application with the Court of Appeal in the near future regarding the High Court judge’s decision to reject the government’s application to postpone the payment of the damages,” he said when contacted.
High Court Judge Roz Mawar Rozain yesterday ordered the government to deposit the damages plus accrued interest into a trust account immediately.
Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, Ivana Smit’s mother, is suing the Inspector-General of Police, Dang Wangi Investigating Officer ASP Faizal Abdullah, the Home Minister and the Malaysian government for alleged breach of statutory duties and negligence.
On July 29, the court ordered the government to pay RM500,000 in general damages, RM300,000 in aggravated damages and RM300,000 in exemplary damages plus RM100,000 in costs to Verstappen.
Roz Mawar also ordered the Inspector-General of Police to remove Faizal from the current task force.
The judge ordered the Royal Malaysia Police to restart the investigation into Ivana Smit’s death as directed by the High Court in 2019.
“PDRM is ordered to brief the Attorney-General’s Chambers on the investigation progress every three months starting from the date of this judgment,” she said.
The AGC must then determine if sufficient evidence has been collected and decide on further action.
Verstappen filed her lawsuit on November 20, 2020, alleging her daughter was found dead on December 7, 2017 after falling from the 20th floor of a CapSquare Residence condominium unit.
She claimed police were negligent in failing to seal the incident scene, seize the victim’s belongings, collect evidence and properly investigate US couple Alex Johnson and Luna Almazkyzy.
The police also failed to arrest, extradite and secure the presence of both individuals as key witnesses during the inquest, according to the suit.
The Coroner’s Court ruled on March 18, 2019 that Ivana Smit’s death was due to misadventure or accident.
Dissatisfied, Verstappen appealed to the High Court.
On November 22, 2019, Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah set aside the Coroner’s Court’s decision and replaced it with “death caused by an unknown individual or individuals”.
He ordered the Attorney General to direct the police to commence a new investigation. – Bernama
