A three-member bench chaired by Justice Zaini Mazlan said the government had shown special circumstances to obtain a stay of the judgment pending an appeal.
He also said that, on the face of it, the government’s appeal appeared to have some merit.
“In our view, there are arguable points that can be raised in the appeal (before the Court of Appeal) on the mandatory orders granted by the High Court,” he said.
Also on the panel hearing the application were Justices Ismail Brahim and Lim Hock Leng.
Zaini said there is a real risk that the appeal would be compromised if the government were compelled to perform the High Court orders.
He said the government had argued that payment was not a straightforward process and that there could be practical difficulties.
“There is no real risk of non-payment. The government will be able to satisfy the judgment sum if it fails in the appeal, and there is also limited prejudice to the respondent (model’s family),” the judge added.
However, Zaini said the bench directed the Court of Appeal’s registry to fix an early appeal hearing date.
Senior federal counsel Liew Horng Bin appeared for the government, while SN Nair represented Smit’s family.
Last week Justice Roz Mawar Rozain ordered the government to deposit the sum, together with accrued interest, in a trust account with immediate effect.
The order was made as the government sought to suspend execution of the July 29 judgment pending an appeal to the Court of Appeal.
In opposing the stay, the family submitted that the government had not shown any exceptional grounds to delay payment and had also not acted on the court’s earlier order to revive the police probe into Smit’s death.
The High Court had previously held the government and police liable for failing to conduct a proper investigation into Smit’s death.
It ordered the government to pay Smit’s family RM500,000 as general damages and an additional RM600,000 as aggravated and exemplary damages.
Smit, who was 18, was found dead on the sixth floor of CapSquare Residence on Dec 7, 2017, after falling from a unit on the 20th floor.
An inquest held in 2018 determined her death to be a “misadventure”.
Upon revision by the High Court, Smit’s death was said to have been caused by “persons known or unknown”.