China has made representations to Pretoria over a series of crimes and murders of Chinese citizens in South Africa and on Tuesday urged its nationals to step up their vigilance in the country.
”Recently there are repeated cases where Chinese citizens were robbed or even injured or killed,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Kong Quan.
”We are closely following the repeated incidents in South Africa and we ask the South African side to step up investigations of these cases and seriously punish the criminals.”
China’s embassy in South Africa has already raised diplomatic representations over the incident with the relevant authorities, Kong said.
”Our citizens in South Africa or citizens going to South Africa should step up their vigilance and take necessary precautions so as to prevent such incidents from occuring,” he added.
The robbings and killings have made front page news in China over the past days.
In the latest incidents, a Chinese man and woman who ran a small shop 45km from Johannesburg were killed in a robbery on Sunday night, Chinese newspapers reported.
The killings occurred three days after armed robbers shot dead a 23-year-old man from eastern China’s Shandong province on the outskirts of Johannesburg.
And on January 10, a Hong Kong businessman was attacked at his home in Johannesburg and died the next day.
There are more than 100 000 Chinese nationals doing businesses in South Africa, with more being targeted as they become wealthier, a Chinese embassy official told the China Daily. – Sapa