KUALA LUMPUR: The mother of the late Dutch model Ivana Esther Robert Smit, who fell from of a condominium near here three years ago, has filed a legal suit against police and the government for negligence.
Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, 56, through Messrs S. N. Nair & Partners, filed the suit at the High Court and named Inspector General of Police (IGP), investigating officer of the case Assistant Superintendent of Police Faizal Abdullah, Home Minister, and the government as the defendants.
The plaintiff in her statement of claim said the defendants failed to carry out their statutory duties and were negligent in their investigation into the death of her daughter who was found dead at the CapSquare Residence near here on Dec 7, 2017.
Smit, who was at the home of American couple Alexander William Johnson and Laura Almazkyzy, was allegedly partying with the couple before she fell to her death. Her naked body was found on a sixth floor balcony at about 10am.
The plaintiff is seeking a declaration that the police had failed to carry out their duties to reopen their investigation as per the High Court order on Nov 22, 2019, given by Judge Collin Lawrence Sequearah.
"The plaintiffs wants the police to remove the second defendant (Faizal) from the current task force to investigate the incident.
"The plaintiff also wants a mandamus order for the first defendant (IGP) to report the progress of their investigation to the court and the plaintiff's solicitors.
"The plaintiff also wants the police to issue a warrant of arrest and extradition against Johnson and Almaz for further questioning and possible prosecution," she said.
On Nov 22, Sequerah had set aside Smit's inquest decision of her death as the result of a "misadventure", to death by person or persons known or unknown.
Sequearah also directed the Attorney General's Chambers to order the police to investigate the cause of her death.
Verstappen in her summons said the defendants had breached their standard operating procedures (SOP) by making a "premature conclusion" in treating the case as sudden death in their preliminary investigation.
"The plaintiff could not accept the defendants aforesaid conclusion as she found it highly unbelievable, incredible, and incredulous that the defendants had only opened a sudden death report (SRD).
"The plaintiff could not accept such verdict at the very early stage, which was rather premature and therefore applied to the Dutch government for assistance to intercede and to have the case re-classified from a criminal angle.
"The Dutch authorities did intercede and the case was referred to the criminal investigation department (CID) but the investigation was still being carried on under a SDR," she said.
She claimed the police had committed negligence when it failed to cordon the crime scene, confiscate the deceased personal belongings, collect evidence, and failure to conduct proper investigation against Johnson and Almaz.
"The defendants failed to detain, extradite, and secure the duo's attendance during the inquest as the key witnesses.
"The police also failed to re-investigate the case in a reasonable manner as per ordered by the High Court," she added.
Smit, who had dual Dutch and Belgian citizenship, was the second runner-up in the Malaysia Supermodel Search 2014, when she was 15-years-old.