The lawyers representing the family of the late Dutch model Ivana Smit have written to Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar, urging compliance with a High Court ruling that the government deposits RM1.1 million in damages, together with interest, in a trust account by yesterday.
In the letter, law firm SN Nair & Partners said they have yet to receive any confirmation, response, or proof of payment regarding the compensation ordered.
“This failure constitutes a clear form of non-compliance and may be regarded as contempt of court, as the court’s directive is explicit, specific, and immediate in nature,” it said in a statement.
The firm said it has been instructed to issue a 48-hour notice to the defendants and the attorney-general to ensure that the judgment sum is paid and deposited into its stakeholder account as ordered by the High Court.
“Kindly be reminded that should the defendants fail to effect payment within the stated period, we have been instructed to take all necessary and appropriate legal action, including but not limited to contempt proceedings, to ensure full compliance with the court’s order,” the letter read.
Yesterday, the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed the government’s application to suspend the payment of RM1.1 million to Smit’s family.
Justice Roz Mawar Rozain ordered the government to deposit the sum, together with accrued interest, in a trust account by the same day.
The judge also ordered the government to pay the family RM8,000 in costs.
In opposing the stay, the family submitted that the government had not shown any exceptional grounds to delay the payment, and had also not acted on the court’s earlier order to revive the police investigation into Smit’s death.
In July, the court held the government and police liable for failing to conduct a proper investigation into the case.
It ordered the government to pay RM500,000 as general damages and an additional RM600,000 as aggravated and exemplary damages.
The government sought to suspend the execution of judgment pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Smit, who was 18, was found dead on the sixth floor of CapSquare Residence in Kuala Lumpur on Dec 7, 2017, after falling from a unit on the 20th floor.
An inquest held in 2018 determined her death to be a “misadventure”.
Upon revision by the High Court, Smit’s death was said to be caused by “persons known or unknown”.
