KUALA LUMPUR: The government has filed a notice of appeal against the High Court's ruling that found the government and police negligent in their investigation into the death of Dutch model Ivana Esther Robert Smit.

Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar confirmed the appeal when contacted today.

"Yes, confirmed. We did file it yesterday," he said in a brief reply to the New Straits Times.

Earlier today, in a statement released by the Smit family's lawyer, Datuk Sankara Nair, it was confirmed that the government, through the Attorney-General's Chambers (A-GC), filed a notice of appeal against the judgment delivered by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on July 29, in the civil action brought by Smit's mother, Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, on behalf of herself and her late daughter.

Featured Videos

Sankara said the appeal was filed yesterday by the A-GC, on behalf of the inspector-general of police, investigating officer Faizal Abdullah, the home minister and the Malaysian government.

"Our firm continues to act for Christina Verstappen in defending the High Court's decision, and we remain committed to ensuring that justice is pursued transparently and vigorously."

On July 29, Christina Verstappen was awarded RM1.1 million in damages after the High Court ruled there was negligence by the police in handling the investigation into her daughter's death in 2017.

Judge Roz Mawar Rozain ruled there were breaches in the duty of care by the authorities, including failures in crime scene management, evidence preservation and forensic procedures.

Christina, who filed the suit as a plaintiff on Nov 20, 2020, had named the inspector-general of police, Faizal, the home minister and the government as defendants.

Smit, who was at the home of American couple Alexander William Johnson and Laura Almazkyzy, was allegedly partying with the couple before she fell to her death.

She fell from the 20th floor, and her naked body was found on a sixth-floor balcony at 10am.

Smit, who had dual Dutch and Belgian citizenship, was the second runner-up in the Malaysia Supermodel Search 2014, when she was 15.