I’m pretty sure the screening I saw in Australia didn’t have him cut in half as I have a memory of thinking he should have been cut in half and then years later when watching it on DVD seeing him cut in half and thinking “I’m sure he wasn’t originally cut in half?”.
With GL’s tendency to change things after you’ve already watched the movie, it didn’t seem out of the question at all. It could also be as some have suggested to pass stricter ratings in some countries which could very well have been the case in Australia at that time.
.Val