KUALA LUMPUR – The government of Malaysia today proposed mediation in the suit filed by the mother of the late Dutch model Ivana Esther Robert Smit against police, the home minister and the government.
In 2020, the 60-year-old Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen filed a suit against the trio and Dang Wangi investigating officer Faizal Abdullah for alleged breach of statutory duties and negligence in investigating the cause of her 18-year-old daughter’s death.
Today, when the matter came up for case management before high court judicial commissioner (JC) Roz Mawar Rozain, federal counsel Mohd Khairulhazman Ghazali said the mediation would be conducted at the mediation centre here from September 23 to 27.
The matter was not objected to by Verstappen’s lawyer Datuk S.N. Nair, who said it was a serious offer to mediate and indicated their willingness to participate.
Before fixing September 30 for case management, JC Roz Mawar reminded the federal counsel that the suit has been ongoing for four years and is set for trial on October 14, with witnesses willing to come from overseas to testify.
“When you said you are willing to mediate, did you just decide this morning or has this been planned earlier?” Roz Mawar asked Khairulhazman.
To this, Khairulhazman said his instruction was to convey the government’s proposal and the mediation would be conducted from September 23 to 27.
In the suit, Verstappen claimed that her daughter was found dead on the sixth floor of CapSquare Residence on December 7, 2017, after falling from the 20th floor of a condominium unit owned by American couple Alex Johnson and Luna Almazkyzy.
She contended that the police had committed negligence when they failed to cordon off the crime scene or conduct a proper investigation against Johnson and Almazkyzy and failed to detain, extradite and secure the duo’s attendance during the inquest as key witnesses.
On March 18, 2019, the Coroner’s Court ruled that Ivana’s death was caused by a “misadventure”.
Not satisfied with the coroner’s verdict, Verstappen appealed to the Kuala Lumpur High Court and on November 22, 2019, high court judge Collin Lawrence Sequerah set aside the coroner’s verdict and replaced it with a verdict of “death by a person or persons unknown”. – August 28, 2024