AGC TO FILE APPEAL TO POSTPONE PAYMENT OF RM1.1 MLN IN DAMAGES TO IVANA SMIT'S MOTHER

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 14 (Bernama) -- The Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) 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 Ivana Esther Robert Smit's mother in a lawsuit related to the death of the Dutch model.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar said the AGC has strong reasons or justifications for doing so.

"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 by reporters.

Yesterday, High Court Judge Roz Mawar Rozain ordered the government to deposit the amount of damages together with the accrued interest into a trust account immediately.

Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, Ivana Smit's mother, has sued 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 in the investigation into the cause of her daughter's death.

On July 29, the court ordered the government to pay RM500,000 in general damages, aggravated damages (RM300,000) and exemplary damages (RM300,000) in addition to costs totalling RM100,000 to Verstappen.

Roz Mawar also ordered the Inspector-General of Police to drop Faizal from the current task force and ordered the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to restart the investigation into the death of Ivana Smit as ordered by the High Court in 2019 against the Coroner's Court decision.

"PDRM is ordered to brief the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) on the progress of the investigation every three months starting from the date of this judgment (July 29) while the AGC must determine whether sufficient evidence has been collected and determine further action to be taken," he said.

In a lawsuit filed on Nov 20, 2020, Verstappen alleged that her daughter was found dead on the sixth floor of CapSquare Residence on Dec 7, 2017 after falling from the 20th floor of a condominium unit owned by US couple Alex Johnson and Luna Almazkyzy.

She alleged that the police were negligent in failing to seal the scene of the incident, seize the victim's personal belongings, collect evidence and fail to properly investigate Johnson and Almazkyzy and fail to arrest, extradite and secure the presence of both during the inquest as key witnesses.

On March 18, 2019, the Coroner's Court ruled that Ivana Smit's death was due to misadventure or accident.

Dissatisfied with the decision, Verstappen appealed to the High Court and on Nov 22, 2019, Judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah (now a Court of Appeal Judge) set aside the Coroner's Court's decision and replaced it with "death caused by an unknown individual or individuals", and ordered the Attorney General to direct the police to commence an investigation.

-- BERNAMA