Parties fail to reach settlement: Lawsuit by mother of Dutch model to go for trial

Focus

30 Sep 2024 05:19pm

The lawsuit by the mother of the late Dutch model, Ivana Esther Robert Smit, against the police, the Home Ministry and the government will proceed to trial on Oct 14 after the parties involved failed to reach a settlement at the High Court today.

KUALA LUMPUR - The lawsuit by the mother of the late Dutch model, Ivana Esther Robert Smit, against the police, the Home Ministry and the government will proceed to trial on Oct 14 after the parties involved failed to reach a settlement at the High Court here today.

Judicial Commissioner Roz Mawar Rozain said the case will be heard at 10 am online via Zoom as the plaintiff will testify from the Netherlands.

Earlier, federal counsel Anis Najwa Nazari, representing the defendants, told the court that the plaintiff's lawyer had submitted a proposed settlement last Aug 28, but the defendants did not agree to the terms.

"The instruction received is to continue the case with a trial,” said Anis Najwa, who was also assisted by federal counsel Nuur (repeat: Nuur) Zul Izzati Zulkipli.

Lawyer Datuk S.N. Nair, representing Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, told the court that he would call seven witnesses, including three from the Netherlands.

The court had previously set the trial for 18 days - Oct 14 to 16; 21 to 23; and 28 to 30 and from Nov 4 to 6; 11 to 13; and 18 to 20.

Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen filed the suit in 2020. She named the police, the Home Minister, Dang Wangi investigating officer ASP Faizal Abdullah and the government for alleged breach of statutory duties and negligence in the investigation to determine the cause of her 18-year-old daughter’s death.

In the suit, Verstappen claimed that her daughter was found dead on the sixth floor of CapSquare Residence on Dec 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 Nov 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." - BERNAMA