QuickCheck: Were organs illegally harvested from an Indonesian in Sabah?

A NEWS report in an Indonesian daily claimed that the internal organs from one of its citizens were harvested before his body was returned to Indonesia.

Is this true?

Verdict:

FALSE

Sabah Health director Datuk Dr Rose Nani Mudin has refuted the claim, stating that the hospital only took several tissue and organ samples measuring an inch from the body of Saidiman Hamal, 38.

This was to determine the cause of death of the fishing crew member who was found dead aboard a ship on Dec 1.

Saidiman's body was sent to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Kota Kinabalu by police for a post-mortem, which is required of all brought-in-dead cases.

Dr Rose said that his body was later identified by several individuals claiming to be Saidiman's relatives.

"All post-mortem arrangements and the process of returning the body to family members were done according to the guidelines that have been set, so there is no issue of internal organs being taken as alleged in Indonesian news reports," she added.

References:

1. https://sebenarnya.my/tiada-organ-diambil-dari-jenazah-warga-indonesia-yang-meninggal-di-sabah/