[imagesource:gencraftai]

Stranger danger is a cliche for a reason.

The unfortunate demise of a 74-year-old German tourist is a stark reminder to be cautious when engaging with unfamiliar individuals and to prioritise personal safety while travelling.

Three foreign national suspects have been charged with the murder of one unlucky tourist, whom they allegedly robbed and physically assaulted on Saturday before leaving him for dead on a remote farm in Limpopo, our northernmost province.

The suspects were meant to appear before the Northam Magistrate’s Court on Monday, for the murder and assault of the kind-hearted man, per The Citizen.

Departing from Botswana, the German national arrived in South Africa on Saturday only to offer a hitchhiker a lift out of the kindness of his own heart. He apparently asked the lone man to help him find accommodation, and eventually established a friendship during the journey, even allowing the stranger to drive them around.

After reaching what was believed to be their lodging in Moruleng, the suspect proposed a trip to a liquor store, where they met up with two additional accomplices of the suspect.

“That’s when the suspect informed his two friends that the tourist is expecting a substantial amount of money from his family abroad,” the police statement read.

All of them then went back to the accommodation, with the victim probably not registering that this would be his last day alive. In the lodging, the suspects promptly tied the senior up, beat him and robbed him.

“They also searched him and took an undisclosed amount of cash and other valuables.

“The suspects removed the vehicle’s number plates and continued to drive with the victim while assaulting him to Northam in Limpopo Province using a secluded gravel road.”

They then dumped the tourists in the bushes once they reached a certain farm.

Security officials and a Rural Safety member became aware of the incident upon spotting a suspicious vehicle parked without license plates during the night. When they looked into it more, they noticed a blood-stained t-shirt worn by one of the suspects and immediately notified the police. The police found the poor man’s body in the bushes, by which point two of the suspects had already fled the scene.

They were found later in the evening, “in possession of some of the deceased’s belongings,” according to the police.

Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Hadebe noted that “The victim had trusted this ruthless criminal, but he turned against him and, together with his friends, tortured and brutally killed him.”

She assured that they would do everything to secure a strong case that would result in a lengthy conviction for the perpetrators.

[source:citizen]