Indian-origin man in South Africa strangles 7-year-old son to death

An Indian-origin man in South Africa allegedly strangled his seven-year-old son to death, in front of his four-year-old daughter who witnessed the entire incident in horror. The father has reportedly been arrested by authorities. The incident occurred earlier this week in Phoenix, in the township of Durban.

The 29-year-old man is expected to appear in court on Tuesday. Reports state that the assailant was separated from his wife, and had rights to visit his children. The man can't be named under South Africa's child protection laws.

An uncle of the children told the local media that the police went in search of the children when the father failed to bring them back home at the scheduled time.

Police officials found him wandering near a park with both of his children in his arms. The father told the authorities that the boy was asleep; both the children were rushed to the hospital immediately. The boy was declared dead at the hospital, as his sister described to the authorities how her father choked the child to death.

The grandmother of the children, Tracy Sinayhakah, told the weekly Post that she received a scary WhatsApp message from the assailant, asking her to tell his former wife that she was "going to lose," according to Press Trust of India reports.

Provincial police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulian Zwane said that a murder case has been opened against the father.