The body of 18-year-old Dutch model Ivana Smit was found naked on a 6th-floor balcony in Kuala Lumpur on 7/12/2017.
She reportedly fell from a 20th-floor apartment owned by 45-year-old American Bitcoin tycoon Alexander Amado Johnson and his 32-year-old Indonesian wife, Luna Almazkyzy. The couple admitted to a threesome with Smit the night she died but denied any involvement in her death, claiming they were asleep when she fell.
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The location where Ivana Smit fell from the 20th floor to the 6th-floor balcony. Photo: Sun |
The location where Ivana Smit fell from the 20th floor to the 6th-floor balcony. Photo: Sun
A post-mortem examination found cocaine, alcohol, and the amphetamine PMMA in Smit's blood. Johnson and his wife denied giving Smit drugs or using any themselves that night.
Police initially attributed Smit's death to an accidental overdose. On 18/3/2019, an inquest ruled her death an "accidental misadventure."
Dissatisfied with this verdict, Smit's family appealed to the Kuala Lumpur High Court. On 22/11/2019, Judge Datuk Collin Lawrence Sequerah overturned the coroner's ruling, declaring her death "caused by person or persons unknown."
The family filed a civil suit against the Dang Wangi police chief, investigating officer ASP Faizal Abdullah, the Minister of Home Affairs, and the Malaysian government, alleging negligence and failure to fulfill their statutory duties.
Shocking lapses in the Malaysian police investigation came to light, revealing that DNA evidence collected from under Smit's fingernails, which linked Johnson to the scene, was not acted upon.
Two months after the incident, on 8/2/2018, the DNA was found but remained in the files without action. Police even allowed Johnson and his wife to leave Malaysia on 29/3/2018 without further questioning.
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American Bitcoin tycoon Alexander Amado Johnson and his Indonesian wife, Luna Almazkyzy. Photo: Facebook |
American Bitcoin tycoon Alexander Amado Johnson and his Indonesian wife, Luna Almazkyzy. Photo: Facebook
In a lawsuit filed on 20/11/2020, Smit's mother accused the police of negligence for failing to secure the crime scene, properly investigate Johnson and his wife, and for not arresting, extraditing, or ensuring their presence as key witnesses.
On 29/7, the Kuala Lumpur High Court awarded Smit's family 1.1 million RM (approximately 258,000 USD) in damages for police negligence. The police and prosecutors were ordered to reopen the investigation, pay the compensation, and cover the family's legal costs. The judge also ordered the removal of investigating officer Abdullah from the reinvestigation task force.
Judge Roz Mawar Rozain stated: "There were lapses in preserving evidence. The handling of witnesses and suspects was inadequate. The presence of DNA evidence linking the suspect to the victim, especially in such suspicious circumstances, should have led to swift and decisive action to prevent the suspect from leaving the jurisdiction."
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Dutch model Ivana Smit died at the age of 18. Photo: Timenote |
Dutch model Ivana Smit died at the age of 18. Photo: Timenote
Smit's family said the High Court's ruling acknowledging the Malaysian authorities' negligence in investigating their daughter's death was more valuable than the monetary compensation. They emphasized the importance of receiving recognition from Malaysia that "we weren't crazy for saying these things for almost eight years."
"Ivana can't come back to us. But at least we can rest assured that a new investigation has been launched and the perpetrators won't be able to live comfortably," the family said in a statement released through their lawyer.
Tue Anh (Sun, Malaymail)
