Court overturns compensation for Ivana Smit’s mother
Malaysia’s Court of Appeal overturns an earlier ruling on shortcomings in the investigation into the death of the Dutch model.
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Malaysia’s Court of Appeal on Wednesday overturned compensation of 1.1 million ringgit awarded to Ivana Smit’s mother. Several orders issued to the police and government in the earlier ruling have also been set aside.
A three-judge panel delivered a unanimous ruling. The court thereby overturned the decision of the Kuala Lumpur court from July 2025, which had held the Malaysian government and police liable for shortcomings in the investigation into Smit’s death.
The earlier court awarded 500,000 ringgit in general damages, plus 300,000 ringgit in additional damages and 300,000 ringgit in punitive damages. A further 100,000 ringgit was awarded in legal costs. The Court of Appeal struck out those amounts and the associated interest.
According to Judge K. Muniandy, the court had given too much weight to evidence from earlier investigations and review proceedings in a new civil case. The court also held that police investigations fall in principle under the executive and prosecutorial branches and cannot simply be directed by a civil court.
The earlier ruling also contained orders concerning the composition of the police team and periodic reports to the Public Prosecution Service. The court overturned those orders as well. This does not mean that the court established exactly what happened to Smit in 2017.
Smit, who held Dutch nationality, died in Kuala Lumpur in December 2017. An earlier post-mortem examination indicated an accident, after which a Malaysian court later ruled that her death may have been caused by another person. The sources consulted do not report a conviction of a perpetrator.
Smit’s mother’s lawyer said, according to Malay Mail, that the family is disappointed and is examining whether an appeal to the Federal Court is possible. The new ruling concerns the civil liability of the government and police, not the criminal-law question of who was responsible for her death.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The Court of Appeal overturned an earlier civil compensation award to the mother.
- The earlier court had also issued orders concerning the police investigation and reporting to prosecutors.
- The new ruling does not determine who was responsible for Ivana Smit’s death.
Left
Arguments Bereaved families should have access to an independent court when public services may have fallen short in an investigation. Without judicial oversight, the police and prosecution can too easily dismiss their own mistakes.
Values Legal protection, equality before the law and government accountability.
Consequences Reversing the ruling could further undermine bereaved families’ confidence in the investigation and the rule of law.
Centre
Arguments Judges should be able to assess errors in government investigations, but civil proceedings should not take over full operational control of police investigations.
Values Separation of powers, careful consideration of evidence and institutional responsibility.
Consequences A clear separation between compensation, oversight and criminal investigation could improve both legal protection and administrative practicality.
Right
Arguments The police and prosecution need professional scope to direct investigations. Broad civil liability could lead to caution, political pressure and judicial interference in police work.
Values Institutional authority, public order and administrative responsibility.
Consequences The judgment may prevent judges from directly determining police teams or investigative priorities, but leaves open the question of effective external oversight.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The ruling and the amounts have been confirmed by Bernama and Malay Mail. The text keeps the civil proceedings separate from the unresolved criminal-law questions.
- confirmed Malaysia’s Court of Appeal overturned compensation of 1.1 million ringgit. — Bernama and Malay Mail report the same unanimous ruling. source
- confirmed The earlier ruling contained several heads of damages and 100,000 ringgit in legal costs. — The amounts are stated in Bernama’s reporting. source
- confirmed The Court of Appeal found that the earlier court had improperly weighed evidence from other proceedings. — This appears in the reasoning as reported by Bernama. source
- confirmed There is no reported conviction of a perpetrator for Smit’s death. — The available Reuters background reports only a reopened investigation and no conviction. source
- confirmed The mother’s lawyer is considering a possible appeal to the Federal Court. — Malay Mail writes that the legal representatives are assessing that possibility. source
Editor's note
The new ruling concerns Malaysia’s Court of Appeal, not the Federal Court. The civil judgment does not provide a definitive finding on the cause of death or criminal responsibility.Sources
More on this in Dutch media
- De Telegraaf — „ivana smit”
- AD — „ivana smit”
- de Volkskrant — „ivana smit”