Thaindian News

Melbourne, Nov 13 (IANS) Cricketer turned commentator Peter Roebuck, who committed suicide Saturday, was being questioned by police about an alleged sexual assault, according to media reports.

Cape Town police captain Frederick van Wyk confirmed police was investigating the death of Roebuck, 55, who died about 9.15 p.m. Saturday, reports Herald Sun.

“It is understood he had been spoken to by Cape Town police, who were reportedly investigating sexual assault claims,” the report said.

“In 2001, the former Somerset captain was given a suspended jail sentence after admitting caning three young cricketers he had offered to coach.”

Asked if Roebuck had been interviewed about sexual assault allegations, van Wyk was quoted as saying in the report: “I cannot comment on that. We are investigating the death. I have nothing more to say.”

Roebuck was staying at the Southern Sun Hotel Newlands in Claremont, Cape Town, where he had been covering the first Test between Australia and South Africa.

Sydney Morning Herald, for whom Roebuck was covering the series, reported that he “fell to his death from a hotel window in Cape Town after being questioned by police about an alleged sexual assault”.

“A Cape Town detective and a uniformed police officer from the sexual crimes unit began speaking with Roebuck, 55, in his room at the Southern Sun Hotel, Newlands, about 9 p.m.,” the paper reported.

“Roebuck, who was agitated, asked a fellow cricket journalist for help. ‘Can you come down to my room quickly? I’ve got a problem,’ he said. He asked for help to find a lawyer and for contact to be made with the students he helped to house in Pietermaritzburg, near Durban.”

“Minutes later Roebuck fell to his death from a window. It is believed only the uniformed officer was in the room. Paramedics rushed to the hotel but Roebuck was pronounced dead. Police established a crime scene and took personal items from the room, including a laptop,” the newspaper report said.