A Bali hospital has denied allegations it was involved in organ theft, after the body of a young Australian who died on the 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 after a request from local police.

“I emphasise, on behalf of Prof Ngoerah hospital, that the circulating rumours of organ theft are false,” he 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 after 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 on Tuesday 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 earlier on Wednesday, saying the incident raised “serious questions” about medical practices in Bali.