Ivana Smit

THE Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) has been found to have breached a High Court order issued in 2019, in what the court described as a clear violation of statutory duty that could amount to contempt of court.

According to Utusan Malaysia, High Court Judge Roz Mawar Rozain said the civil suit filed by the mother of the late Dutch model, Ivana Esther Robert Smit, exposed serious failings in law enforcement processes in Malaysia.

She said there was misconduct in public office involving improper action and a failure to utilise updated forensic methodologies that could have provided critical information about the timing of the trauma suffered by Smit.

She noted that on Feb 8, 2018, a report revealed the presence of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) belonging to American national Alex Johnson under Smit’s fingernails.

“Despite this critical evidence being available, Alex Johnson and Luna Almazkyzy were allowed to leave Malaysia on Mar 29, 2018, nearly a month after the discovery of the DNA,” she said.

The suit was filed by Smit’s mother, Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, on Nov 20, 2020, on grounds that the defendants had breached their statutory obligations and were negligent in investigating the cause of her daughter’s death.

The named defendants were the Inspector-General of Police, Dang Wangi District investigating officer Assistant Commissioner Faizal Abdullah, the Minister of Home Affairs and the government of Malaysia.

Prior to the discovery of her body, Smit was last seen drinking with Alex and Luna in Kuala Lumpur (KL) before returning to their residence at CapSquare Residence, KL.

Judge Roz Mawar said Faizal had testified that although the DNA findings raised suspicions, no immediate action was taken to detain the suspects or prevent their departure from the country.

She added that the lack of transparency and accountability in the operations of the special task force, coupled with the absence of clear progress or communication, amounted to a failure in managing and executing the reinvestigation mandate.

The court subsequently ordered all defendants to pay RM1.1 million in total damages to Verstappen — comprising RM500,000 in general damages, RM300,000 in aggravated damages and RM300,000 in exemplary damages. An additional RM100,000 was awarded for costs.

The court also directed PDRM to reopen its investigation into Smit’s death.

On Nov 22, 2019, the High Court had set aside the Coroner’s ruling and instructed the Attorney-General’s Chambers to direct police to investigate the circumstances surrounding the 19-year-old’s death.

Then High Court Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah — now a Court of Appeal Judge — concluded that Smit’s death was caused by “a known or unknown person” and ruled that the authorities had failed to carry out a proper investigation. — TMR

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