Dutch national Fred Agenjo Weinhold, 48, told FMT recently in an interview that he has not been able to find solace after the death of his 18-year-old niece on Dec 7 last year, which made rounds online over the “saucy” details of the case.

But what was even worse, he said, was the manner in which the first investigation had been carried out by the Malaysian cops, which sparked allegations by family members of a possible cover-up and foul play.

“The bottom line here is that the initial police investigation was not done according to proper standards.

“Call it whatever you want, incompetent or lazy, but because of this, we can’t clear Ivana’s name anymore or find out what happened. She has already turned into ash.”

Adding that he was disappointed and angry at the police, he said Smit had deserved better.

“This wasn’t a bank robbery or a parking ticket claim gone wrong. We’re talking about the death of my niece.

“For whatever reason, she was denied a fair investigation. This is what breaks my heart,” he said to FMT.

Smit’s nude body was found sprawled on a sixth-floor balcony at CapSquare Residences off Jalan Dang Wangi in Kuala Lumpur shortly after 2pm on Dec 7 last year.

She is believed to have fallen some time before that from a 20th-floor condominium unit belonging to an American-Kazakh couple she had befriended.

Police originally classified the case as sudden death. It was reopened this year after Smit’s family claimed there were elements of foul play and a cover-up.

The Pakatan Harapan government subsequently ordered for an inquest to take place to determine what had happened and whether there was enough evidence to reopen the case and take it to trial.

Weinhold, who has been attending the inquest since day one, said it was difficult at first watching “all sorts of drama” unfold and hearing some of the claims made by the witnesses called in to testify.

Witnesses, who include friends, family members and medical experts, have so far testified that Smit took drugs, was sexually adventurous, promiscuous and had issues, leading to her breaking down at points.

A toxicology report provided by the Chemistry Department, however, states that there were varying amounts of alcohol, cannabis and cocaine in Smit’s blood and urine.

A pathologist also says Smit was on cocaine for at least six months prior to her death.

“Even if everything mentioned is true, I think it’s irrelevant,” he told FMT outside the Kuala Lumpur Coroner’s Court after an inquest proceeding.

“Even if someone is promiscuous or a drug addict, no one deserves to be thrown off a balcony,” he said, referring to claims that Smit might have been pushed off the balcony of the 20th-floor condominium unit.

“I’m more than convinced that something went down that day,” he added, telling FMT that he had seen the “unnatural” pictures of Smit when she was found dead on the balcony.

The pathologist who conducted Smit’s post-mortem the day after her death said the model had died due to blunt-force trauma consistent with falling.

However, a second pathologist hired by Smit’s family testified that some of her injuries indicated that she might have been dead before the fall.

Weinhold also hit out at Alex Johnson and Luna Almaz, the American-Kazakh couple who owned the 20th floor condo, saying they should have been considered prime suspects in the original police case.

He asked why they had been allowed to leave the country, calling it “utterly ridiculous”.

The couple have not turned up to testify at the inquiry despite being subpoenaed. They are currently believed to be in the US.

They told the UK’s Daily Mail that they had regular sexual relations with Smit in the weeks leading to her death.

Luna also claimed she had sex with Smit just hours before the model was found dead.

However, Weinhold said the couple had never reached out to Smit’s family.

“That’s one of the major issues we have with them. If they were truly innocent, they would have called us and apologised for being a part of all this but we heard nothing from them.

“In fact,” he added, “we reached out to them but we never got an answer.”

Weinhold, who took leave from work to attend the inquest, said he had to return to the Netherlands.

He expressed hope that his niece would receive justice and that the authorities would do what was right.

“I’m happy that independent people are listening in now. I’m sure they’ll come up with a fair outcome.”

The inquest, which is held at the Kuala Lumpur Coroner’s Court in the High Court complex before Coroner Mahyon Talib, has been on for 11 days already this month.

Although it was only scheduled for 8 days, additional dates have been added to allow for additional witnesses to testify and be crossed by the deputy public prosecutor and the watching brief lawyer.

22 witnesses will take the stand by the end of the inquest on Sept 25.

Mahyon will make her ruling in about a months’ time from then.

An inquest is usually held when there are reasons to suspect that a person has died in a sudden or unnatural manner.

It is not a trial, where a person could be found guilty of an offence or civilly liable, but merely a fact-finding mission.

Smit moved to Malaysia when she was three years old and lived for 13 years in Penang with her paternal grandparents.

Her body was repatriated to the Netherlands where she was laid to rest in her birth town of Roermond on Dec 30 amid wide media coverage.

The inquest continues next Wednesday.