THE mother of Dutch model Ivana Esther Robert Smit has served a notice of demand to the Malaysian government, calling for the payment of RM1.1 million within 48 hours.
The notice, addressed to the Attorney General, was issued on Friday by her lawyer, Datuk Sankara Nair, who urged Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar to ensure that the judgment sum is deposited into his client’s account through their law firm.
The demand follows a High Court decision on Thursday, which rejected applications from the Inspector-General of Police, the investigating officer, Asisten Superintendan Faizal Abdullah, the Home Minister, and the Malaysian government — as the first to fourth defendants — to defer the payment.
“If the defendants fail to make payment within the stipulated period, we have been instructed to take the necessary legal action, including contempt of court proceedings, to ensure full compliance with the payment order,” Sankara Nair said.
He added that his client, Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, had initially refrained from seeking immediate enforcement to allow the government reasonable discretion. However, the court stressed that the order dated 29 July must be complied with without compromise.
To date, Sankara Nair stated that no confirmation, response, or proof of payment had been received from the government regarding the compensation sum.
He warned that failure to comply could be considered a clear violation and might result in contempt proceedings, given that the court’s instructions were explicit, specific, and immediate.
High Court Judge Roz Mawar Rozain also ordered the government to deposit accrued interest into a trust account by Thursday and to pay RM8,000 in costs to the plaintiff.
On 29 July, the court ordered the government and three other parties to pay the total compensation to Christina after ruling in her favour over claims of police negligence in handling the investigation into her daughter’s death in 2017.
The court awarded RM500,000 in general damages, RM300,000 in aggravated damages, and RM300,000 in exemplary damages.
The first to fourth defendants were also ordered to pay RM100,000 in legal costs to the victim’s family.
Christina filed the lawsuit on 20 November 2020, alleging statutory breaches and negligence in investigating the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death. Ivana, aged 18, was found dead on a sixth-floor balcony on 7 December 2017, after falling from the 20th floor of a condominium owned by American couple Alex Johnson and Luna Almazkyzy.
Christina alleged that the police failed to secure the scene, seize the victim’s personal belongings, collect evidence, conduct proper investigations against Johnson and Almazkyzy, and ensure the presence of the couple as key witnesses during the inquest. - November 14, 2025
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