PUTRAJAYA: The family of Dutch model Ivana Smit, who was found dead on the sixth floor of a condominium, has one more legal recourse after the Court of Appeal allowed the government's appeal in a civil action linked to her death.
The family's lawyer Datuk Sankara Nair said his client, Smit's mother Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, may appeal to the Federal Court.
On Wednesday (Oct 14), a three-judge panel of the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal by the government, the Inspector-General of Police, an investigating officer in the case and the Home Minister, effectively setting aside a RM1.1mil damages that was awarded to Verstappen.
"Nevertheless, whilst we respectfully accept the decision of the court, we do so with a clear conscience, knowing that we have pursued every available avenue thus far in our quest for justice.
"My client now has one final avenue of recourse, an appeal to the Federal Court, subject to obtaining leave. We remain steadfast in our belief that accountability must never be sacrificed at the altar of legal technicalities, particularly where the conduct of public authorities is concerned," he said in an immediate statement.
Smit 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 citizens Alex Johnson and Luna Almazkyzy.
Verstappen filed the lawsuit on Nov 20, 2020. She claimed the police were negligent in failing to cordon off the crime scene, seize the victim's personal belongings, collect evidence, conduct a proper investigation into Johnson and Almazkyzy, and in failing to arrest, extradite and ensure their presence at the inquest as key witnesses.
On July 29, 2025, High Court judge Justice Roz Mawar Rozain allowed Verstappen's lawsuit and ordered the government to pay RM500,000 in general damages, RM300,000 in aggravated damages and RM300,000 in exemplary damages, in addition to RM100,000 in costs to the plaintiff.
Justice Roz Mawar also directed the IGP (the first defendant) to remove ASP Faizal (the second defendant) from the task force and ordered the police to reopen the investigation as ordered by the High Court in 2019, despite the Coroner's Court's decision.
On March 18, 2019, the Coroner's Court ruled that Smit's death was due to misadventure (accidental death).
Dissatisfied with the Coroner's Court decision, Verstappen appealed to the High Court here and on Nov 22, 2019, then-High Court judge Justice Collin Lawrence Sequerah (now a Federal Court judge) overturned the Coroner's Court's decision.
He replaced it with "death caused by an individual or several unknown individuals" and ordered the Attorney General to instruct the police to initiate an investigation.
