Court of Appeal overturns RM1.1mil award in Ivana Smit case
Court rules that the police owe no private law duty of care to the complainants and says the High Court overstepped its jurisdiction by issuing orders on police personnel management and the day-to-day conduct of investigations.
The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling that ordered the government and police to pay RM1.1 million in damages to the mother of Dutch model Ivana Smit, who died in 2017 after falling from a 20th-floor condominium unit. The Court of Appeal's three-member bench set aside the damages, interest, and mandatory orders, stating that the police do not owe a private law duty of care to individual complainants or their relatives.
The court also ruled that the High Court erred in treating negligence and misconduct as independent causes of action without satisfying legal requirements for liability against public authorities. The decision has been met with disappointment by Smit's mother's legal representative, who stated that while judicial precedent is important, the courts must still hold public authorities accountable for negligent actions.
Brief written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
