Australian Tourist Found Dead in Bali

The Jakarta Globe, February 3, 2014.


Denpasar. An Australian man was found dead at a hotel in Bali on Sunday in the third death of an Australian tourist on the island this year.

The body of Rohan Max Fitzgerald, 26, was found at 4 p.m. on Sunday on the bathroom floor of Bounty Hotel, a restaurant and hotel on Kuta’s Jalan Popies Lane II. According to police, Fitzgerald was seen on closed-circuit television eating a steak lunch and drinking beer while chatting with fellow patrons in the hours leading up to his death. He had been at the establishment for four hours before his body was discovered, police said.

He was driven to the Bali International Medical Center (BIMC Hospital) by hotel staff, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The cause of death remained unknown on Monday.

“We haven’t found any evidence on his body,” Kuta Police chief I Nyoman Reza said.

The 26-year-old tourist reportedly suffered from a heart problem, according to Bounty Hotel staff.

An investigation into the cause of death is ongoing.

“We’re putting the corpse in Sanglah Hospital for investigative purposes,” Reza said.

Fitzgerald is the third Australian tourist to die under seemingly mysterious circumstances since the start of the year. Australian authorities are investigating the deaths of Noelene Gaye Bischoff, 45, and her daughter Yvana Jeana Yuri Bischoff, 14, after the pair fell violently ill and passed away on Jan. 4. Bali Police investigated the deaths, ruling out poisoning after examining trace evidence found in their room at the Padangbai Beach Inn Resort, in Karangasem district.

The family declined an autopsy by Indonesian officials and flew the remains back home. The Queensland coroner’s office is conducting its own investigation into the deaths.



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