KUALA LUMPUR: The suit filed by the mother of late Dutch model Ivana Esther Robert Smit, who fell to her death from a condominium in 2017, is set for an 18-day trial at the High Court in October.
Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, who filed the suit as plaintiff in Nov 20,2020, had named the inspector-general of police (IGP), investigating officer Assistant Superintendent Faizal Abdullah, home minister and the government as defendants.
Verstappen's lawyer, Datuk S.N. Nair, said judicial commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain had during case management today maintained the trial dates fixed previously.
He said the dates were Oct 14 to 16; 21 to 23; 28 to 30; and Nov 6,11 to 13, and 18 to 20.
"We have filed the relevant documents and we are ready for trial.
"The next case management date is Aug 28," he said after the proceedings.
Verstappen, 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.
She fell from the 20th floor and her naked body was found on a sixth floor balcony at about 10am.
Smit, who had dual Dutch and Belgian citizenship, was the second runner-up in the Malaysia Supermodel Search 2014, when she was 15.
Verstappen sought 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 Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah.
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.
Sequerah 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.
She had said she 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).
She added she could not accept such a verdict at the very early stage, and applied to the Dutch government for assistance to intercede and to have the case re-classified from a criminal angle.
The Dutch authorities, she said, did intercede and the case was referred to the criminal investigation department but the investigation was still being carried on under a SDR.