World croquet chief killed in attack in Thailand: report

WELLINGTON, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- World Croquet Federation president and New Zealander Charles Jones has been killed in an attack at a tourist resort in Thailand, Radio New Zealand reported Thursday.

Jones was believed to have been attacked Tuesday in a rented apartment while on holiday in the Jomtien area in the city of Pattaya, said the report.

Interpol was involved in the investigation into his death, which occurred during a stopover while he was returning to New Zealand from an international championship in London, it said.

Brother-in-law Robert McMillan told Radio New Zealand that details of the incident were not confirmed, but there was a robbery in which Jones' computer and cellphone were stolen.

He said he expected to receive a report from the New Zealand embassy in Bangkok.

He told Radio New Zealand he was sure Jones had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Croquet New Zealand executive director Murray Taylor was quoted as saying the news had prompted "a large outpouring of grief" among the sport's members.