Dead Dutch model had everything to live for, says guardian

Ivana’s modelling career was supported by her grandfather since the tender age of 13.

GEORGE TOWN: The death of Dutch model Ivana Esther Smit has shocked her friends and family in Penang, with her guardians demanding to know the “truth” about what really happened.

Up and coming runway model, Smit, 18, was found dead after falling from the 20th floor of the CapSquare Residences in downtown Kuala Lumpur on Dec 7. She was found sprawled on top of the sixth-floor balcony in the nude.

The case has been classified as sudden death, with police declaring no foul play.

Ivana grew up under her grandfather Hendrik’s care in Penang.

For grandfather Hendrik Smit, 78, Ivana’s death was too painful to bear, as he took care of her for the past 15 years in Penang and helped to build her modelling career.

“Gossip and rumours about her being a substance abuser, among others, are disturbing, as we were very close and I know she would not have done such a thing.

“She is always cheerful and positive minded. She is never depressed. You can ask her friends.

“It was so painful to see her at the morgue. She wanted to become a famous model. Today she is ‘famous’, but she is not alive to see it,” Hendrik told FMT in an interview.

The last photo of Ivana with her grandfather Hendrik Smit at his home in Batu Ferringhi on Nov 10. She was there for his 78th birthday celebration.

Ivana, who is of Dutch and Indonesian-Chinese parentage was born in Sittard, Limburg, the southernmost province in the Netherlands.

At the age of three, she joined her paternal grandparents Hendrik and Ho Sioe Tjoan, 77, in Penang in 2002. The couple had migrated to Penang the same year.

“We took care of Ivana from birth in the Netherlands, as her parents were busy at work.

“In 2002, we migrated to Penang. My son then called me to say Ivana had missed us so much, to an extent she refused to eat.

“My son then flew her to Penang and decided to let her grandparents take care of her,” Hendrik said.

Schooling in Penang

Ivana was born to Hendrik’s second child, Marcellino Smit, 55, who runs a used car dealership in the Netherlands. Ivana has an elder brother, Randy, 31.

Hendrik with young Ivana at her hometown of Sittard, in the Netherlands.

Hendrik said Ivana was “very much a Penangite” as she studied from kindergarten to high school in Penang. She graduated Grade 10 at an international school at the age of 16.

“She had a big group of friends in Penang and was very sociable. She is very much a Penangite and less Dutch. Reports claiming that she holds a Belgian citizenship is false. She had Dutch citizenship.”

He said Ivana began her modelling career at the age of 13, after shooting up in height at an early age and with her blossoming beauty.

Ivana had also shared the runway with other more older, experienced models in Korea and Taiwan before.

According to her grandfather, Ivana was also very talented and played the guitar, piano and with a black belt in taekwondo.

“She has 35 different certificates from various courses she had attended. She also spoke fluent Mandarin and played football in school, just like me,” Hendrik, who is of Dutch and Indonesian ancestry said.

Ivana Smit with her mother Karin Verstappen.

In 2015, Hendrik had followed Ivana’s mother Karin Verstappen back to the Netherlands for two years, before coming back to Malaysia in early November.

Hendrik last met Ivana at his home in Batu Ferringhi on Nov 10, where the family had celebrated his 78th birthday.

“She told us she was very busy having to do a lot of shows. But she was very happy. There was no problem and she was in good spirits.

Ivana Smit was shortlisted for a modelling competition in Paris, France on Jan 21 next year. She was supposed to leave for France on Dec 21.

“Ivana told us she would be going to Paris on Dec 21 for the ‘Top Model Belgium 2018′ contest, where she was shortlisted as a contestant,” he said.

It would have been her second modelling contest, as she was the second runner-up in the Malaysia Supermodel Search 2014, when she was just 15 years old.

Family upset with police

At the Hospital Kuala Lumpur morgue, Hendrik said he could not bear to see Ivana’s body on the stretcher.

“I could only see her briefly. She was covered in a white shroud with her face exposed.”

He said the family is upset that the post-mortem results were not given immediately because there were many pressing questions.

“The police say she had fallen off the building naked. Now, where are her clothes and shoes? Are you telling me she walked into the condo naked?

“My son had a chance to see the closed-circuit television camera of Ivana entering the building. She was clothed.

“We were not allowed to see photos or any report. We could not see anything. There are a lot of unanswered questions.

“So after nearly a week of waiting, we have asked for the Dutch embassy to help,” Hendrik said.

A newspaper in the Netherlands had reported on Monday that the Dutch embassy had sought the help of Interpol to help investigate the case.

One of the reasons the family had given was that neighbours of the American couple, at whose 20th floor unit Ivana had gone to, said they had heard noise of people fighting in the early morning not long before Ivana was said to have fallen off to her death.

Ivana’s body will be sent to Geleen, the Netherlands once it is released by the hospital, and will be cremated there, Hendrik said. -FMT