‘Business Owners Being Targeted in South Africa’
Wang Linyan, China Daily (Beijing), August 5, 2009
Tang Yiguang, a 33-year-old from Fujian province, was shot in the head on Sunday morning, apparently by armed robbers attempting to hold up his store in Vryheid, a town 400 km from Johannesburg.
Embassy officials are already liaising with investigators and warning that Chinese business people are becoming targets in the country.
“I contacted the police this morning,” said Lou Xiandi, counselor on security at China’s Embassy in South Africa.
“They have caught five of the eight suspects, including the suspected gunman. They have also found guns.”
Lou said the robbers also shot dead a local security guard before taking cash and goods from the supermarket, which specialized in the sale of Chinese products.
Tang’s father is on his way to the country and Tang’s brother-in-law is running the business.
“We will do what we can to help his father,” Lou said, adding that officials have visited Tang’s wife and relatives to express their condolences.
Police concluded on Monday that the killing was carried out by eight people, including Tang’s cashier and her relatives, said Liu Yantao, chief of China’s Consulate General in Durban.
