Malaysian court awards compensation for sloppy investigation into Dutch model's death
The surviving relatives of Dutch model Ivana Smit have won a civil lawsuit against the Malaysian government. The Malaysian court ruled that the investigation into the 18-year-old woman’s death was seriously flawed and negligent and ordered the government to pay her relatives compensation of over 224,000 euros, NU.nl reports.
According to the court, the police chief investigator “arbitrarily classified Smit’s death as suicide” despite possible evidence of murder and failed to investigate other scenarios.
Sébas Diekstra, the lawyer representing Smit’s family, spoke of “a historic and courageous ruling” by the Malaysian court. “The police and the government have been held liable for gross negligence, dereliction of duty, and disregard for basic investigative standards,” he wrote on X.
Smit was found naked and dead at the bottom of an apartment building in Kuala Lumpur in 2017. She had been visiting an American couple in the building. The Malaysian police quickly determined that she had fallen and that her death was accidental.
Smit’s family disputed these findings and asked a Dutch pathologist to conduct further investigation. After examining Smit’s body, the pathologist concluded that her injuries were not consistent with a fall, and she likely died before the fall. There were also indications that she may have been sexually assaulted.
Malaysia opened a new investigation into Smit’s death. A judge then ruled that no crime had been committed and that no criminal case would be filed. The Supreme Court later overturned that ruling. A new investigation is now underway, in which Interpol is also involved.
