STAFF CORRESPONDENT

A Bangladeshi businessman was shot dead by unidentified assailants in South Africa on Saturday afternoon, according to the victim’s family.

The deceased, Sumon Miah, 34, was originally from Abhirampur Pashchim Para in Tangail’s Mirzapur upazila, said Abdullah Al Mamun, officer-in-charge of Mirzapur Police Station.

According to the family, Sumon went to South Africa 14 years ago and had been doing business near Newcastle city.

Around 1:00pm on Saturday local time (5:00pm BST), unidentified assailants stopped his car and shot him dead. Police later recovered his body.

Speaking to reporters, Sumon’s father said people known to him in South Africa immediately informed the family about the incident over the phone.

Sumon’s body may reach Bangladesh on Tuesday, he said. The youngest of seven siblings, Sumon married three years ago and had a two-year-old son, his family said.

Over the past decade, hundreds of Bangladeshis have been murdered in South Africa over business and personal disputes.