Chris Yates: Victorian man’s brother comes forward about missing organs after Bali autopsies

An Australian man has made a shocking claim after his brother died in Bali more than two years ago.

Chris Yates was a 52-year-old Victorian living in Bali when he unexpectedly passed away in February 2023.

Coroner Dr Nola Margaret Gunawan of Prof Ngoerah Hospital determined Mr Yates had narrowed arteries which caused cardiac arrest.

His family were unable to corroborate the cardiac findings during the second autopsy in Australia, however, as medical examiners conducted the autopsy, they observed something appalling — multiple of Mr Yates’ organs were missing.

“My brother came back without his heart, liver, kidney, stomach – he came back an empty shell,” Steve Yates told news.com.au.

“After eight weeks trying to track down his organs through the Balinese funeral home, they sent a heart back but it had so many chemicals in it that it could have been anyone’s.”

It could have been a monkey’s (heart), it was impossible to tell.

Steve was prompted to come forward after Denpasar’s Prof Ngoerah Hospital made headlines last month when the family of 23-year-old Queenslander Byron Haddow, who died on the tourist island in May, revealed his body was also returned to Australia without a heart.

After facing inquiries from the Haddow family and Australian officials, Indonesian authorities delivered the missing organ to his family in Queensland in August — with the repatriated heart currently undergoing DNA testing to prove it belongs to the 23-year-old.

In the two years since the heart was returned to the Yates family, Steve has been desperately seeking answers for his brother.

“Trying to get information ever since has been like driving into a brick wall,” he said.

“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Australian Federal Police, Bali Police, and the Balinese Government, no response from any of them.”

Steve said he also sent more than a dozen emails to the coroner about his brother’s heart but received no response.

In an interview with local media, Dr Gunawan confessed Steve’s emails had landed in her spam inbox and had mostly been auto-deleted, except for one — an email the coroner alleges contained accusations of organ “harvesting and stealing”.

“I did not reply as it was very unpleasant, it contained threats and slander,” she said.

The doctor also denied Mr Yates’ claims of multiple organs being absent, saying both bodies were only missing the heart.

“I applied exactly the same process (to Yates) as I applied to Byron in that I only retained the heart, in full compliance with the law, and documented it all,” she said.

“The rest of the organs, I removed them for the autopsy, as is the procedure, took samples and returned them to the body.”

Prof Ngoerah Hospital’s Director of Medical Support, I Made Darmajaya, joined Dr Gunawan in vehemently denying claims of organ theft at the Balinese hospital.

“The circulating rumours of organ theft are false,” Made told the Bali Star in late September.

“There is no interest of the hospital to withhold (the heart). Our interest was in the context of examination in accordance with the law.”

There are no official warnings from the Australian Government pertaining to organ extraction in Indonesian autopsies, however the British government has provided guidance for their citizens.

“If organs are removed, they will normally be returned before the person’s body is released for burial, in exceptional circumstances body parts may be kept without permission.

“This might happen if further investigation is needed. The next of kin will be told if this happens.”

Both the Haddows and Yates deny being informed about any exceptional circumstances.