KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 13 — The High Court has rejected the government’s bid to suspend a RM1.1 million payment to the family of the late Dutch model Ivana Smit.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Justice Roz Mawar Rozain ordered the government to deposit the sum, along with accrued interest, into a trust account by today.
The court also directed the government to pay RM8,000 in legal costs to the family.
In July, the court found both the government and police liable for failing to conduct a proper investigation into Smit’s death, awarding RM500,000 in general damages and RM600,000 in aggravated and exemplary damages.
The government had sought to stay the execution of this judgment pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Smit, 18, was found dead at CapSquare Residence on December 7, 2017, after falling from a 20th-floor unit.
An inquest in 2018 ruled her death a “misadventure”, though the High Court later determined it was caused by “persons known or unknown”.
Lawyer SN Nair represented Smit’s family, while senior federal counsel Siti Aishah Ramlan appeared for the government.
