Body of Australian who died in Indonesia returned to his family without his heart

The body of a young Australian who died on an Indonesian resort island was repatriated without his heart.

Queensland man Byron Haddow was found dead in the plunge pool of his Bali villa earlier this year while on holiday.

The body of the 23-year-old was returned to Australia four weeks later, and a second autopsy found his heart was missing, prompting Australian officials to demand answers from their Indonesian counterpart.

I Made Darmajaya, director of medical nursing and support at Prof. Ngoerah hospital, denied the hospital was involved in organ theft, explaining that the hospital carried out a forensic autopsy on Haddow's body following a request from local police.

"I emphasize, on behalf of Prof. Ngoerah Hospital, that the circulating rumors of organ theft are false," Made told reporters.

"There is no interest of the hospital to withhold (the heart). Actually, our interest was in the context of examination in accordance with the law."

He said Haddow's heart was repatriated to Australia later than the rest of his body as it took a long time to process it to meet the requirements for a pathological examination.

A spokesperson for Australia's foreign ministry said they were providing consular assistance to Haddow's family but could not provide further comment, citing privacy obligations.

Haddow's heart was returned to Queensland in August, more than two months after his death, Ni Luh Arie Ratna Sukasari, a legal representative of Haddow's family, said, adding that the incident raised "serious questions" about medical practices in Bali.