The family of Ivana Esther Robert Smit succeeded in their appeal to reinstate their lawsuit against the Malaysian government over the Dutch model’s death five years ago.

A three-person Court of Appeal bench chaired by Yaacob Md Sam allowed the appeal by the deceased’s mother Christina Carolina Gerarda Johanna Verstappen, following a hearing of submissions by legal teams earlier today.

The appeal was over the decision of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur on April 21 last year, which...