Malaysia ordered to pay Dutch model’s family damages over botched death probe
A High Court justice condemned the police handling of Ivana Smit’s case as a ‘profound failure’ and awarded the family 1.1 million ringgit
Justice Roz Mawar Rozain, delivering her decision on Tuesday, condemned the handling of the case as a “profound failure of Malaysia’s law enforcement system”.
The court found that police breached their duty of care while investigating the circumstances surrounding Smit’s death.
Justice Roz Mawar cited a litany of failings, including the premature classification of the case, mishandling of the crime scene, failures in preserving evidence and inadequate treatment of witnesses and suspects. She also noted the neglect of foreign evidence and the dismissal of expert testimony.
“These are simple and clear pieces that corroborate my finding that there were breaches of the duty of care,” she said.
Smit, who was 18 at the time, was found dead on the sixth-floor balcony of CapSquare Residence on December 7, 2017, after falling from the 20th floor of a unit owned by American couple Alex Johnson and Luna Almazkyzy.