Govt Given 48 Hours To Pay Dutch Model S Mum Rm1 1m In Damages

---

 


The government has 48 hours to pay the court-ordered RM1.1 million in damages to the mother of Dutch model Ivana Smit, following the Kuala Lumpur High Court’s dismissal of its application to postpone the damages and interest payments yesterday.
Judge Roz Mawar Rozain gave the deadline after finding no special circumstances for a stay.
In the notice of demand sighted by Malaysiakini, the law firm SN Nair & Partners, who represents Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, said they have been instructed to take further legal actions against the government if they fail to make payment immediately.
The notice was issued today and was addressed to Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar.
The firm stated that initially, Smit’s family had refrained from demanding an immediate payment to give the government a reasonable discretion.
However, the judge emphasised the seriousness and force of the order, dated July 29, saying that it must be complied with without any compromise.
“As of this writing, we have still not received any confirmation, feedback or any proof of payment regarding the amount of compensation ordered.
“This failure is a clear form of non-compliance and can be considered as contempt of the court’s order, since the court order is clear, specific and immediate in nature,” said the law firm.
The case
On Dec 7, 2017, Smit’s body was discovered on the balcony of a sixth-floor unit of CapSquare Residence in Kuala Lumpur, 14 floors below the 20th-floor unit of suspects Alex Johnson and his wife, Luna Almaz.
On March 8, 2019, the Kuala Lumpur Coroner’s court ruled the model’s death a misadventure, a decision which the Kuala Lumpur High Court overturned in November of the same year.
The government filed a notice at the Court of Appeal in August this year, seeking to overturn the High Court’s verdict.
Separately, Smit’s mother launched legal proceedings in 2020, alleging that the police, the home minister, the Dang Wangi investigating officer, and the government had breached their statutory duties and were negligent in their investigation into the 18-year-old’s death.
Roz Mawar, on July 29 this year, had ordered the government to pay RM500,000 in general damages as well as RM600,000 in aggravated and exemplary damages totalling up to RM1.1 million after finding that the government and the police are guilty of negligence in carrying out their duties as they failed to investigate Smit’s death in 2017.
The judge also ordered the government to pay RM100,000 in costs and a five percent annual interest on the damages granted, from the date of judgment until the full and final settlement. -Mkini

---