Johannesburg - South Africa's police boss on Monday condemned the killing of a honeymooning British tourist's wife in a Cape Town township, saying the incident brings the country into disrepute.
“It is appalling that the actions of one or two thugs should bring our entire country into disrepute in the eyes of the world,” said General Bheki Cele said in a statement.
“South Africa safely hosts hundreds of thousands of tourists annually without any serious incident, as was proved during the recent 2010 Fifa World Cup,” said Cele.
According to police, the couple were on Saturday abducted by armed men who stopped their taxi at an intersection close to a major township.
The attackers forced out the driver and sped off with the couple. The 31-year-old man was released an hour later.
But the woman was killed and her body was found in Lingelethu West township, south-east of Cape Town.
Authorities in Sweden have identified the 28-year-old woman as a Swedish citizen.
“The Swedish foreign ministry is helping support her family and will travel to South Africa to help bring home her body,” ministry spokesperson Henrik Knobe told reporters.
Regional tourist authorities said the couple who married two weeks ago arrived in Cape Town on Thursday.
“We are saddened to learn about this horrendous and shocking incident,” said Cele.
South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with an average 46 killings a day last year, according to official statistics. - Sapa-AFP