'The monsters who killed Ivana won't rest easy', says deceased Dutch model's family after verdict
In a press statement via the family's lawyer Datuk Sankara Nair, Smit's uncle Fred Agenjo Weinhold said that the family was 'very content' with the judge's decision on Tuesday (July 29).
'The money awarded is of no consequence, it is far more important that we receive recognition from Malaysia that we are not crazy for saying what we have been saying for almost eight years.
'We won't get Ivana back, but at least we have the satisfaction that a new investigation was ordered and the monsters responsible cannot rest easy,' he said.
Meanwhile, Sankara commended the court's decision for issuing exemplary and unprecedented mandamus orders, which included the removal of the second defendant (ASP Faizal Abdullah) from the investigating team, the reopening of the investigation into Smit's death, and the instruction for quarterly progress reports to be submitted to the Attorney General's Chambers with mandate for the AGC to take appropriate and successive prosecutorial action.
'These structural and supervisory remedies demonstrate the court's clear intent to ensure accountability is no longer delayed or denied,' Sankara said.
He also urged the AGC to consider the public interest, the pain endured by the family and the integrity of the court's decision in its consideration to appeal the High Court's decision.
On Tuesday, High Court judge Justice Roz Mawar Rozain awarded Smit's mother, Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, RM1.1mil for general, aggravated and exemplary damages in her lawsuit against the defendants over her daughter's death.
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