A 36-year-old Chinese national was arrested at the O.R Tambo International Airport as he attempted to flee the country on May 1.

KwaZulu-Natal police spokesman Colonel Robert Netshiunda said Chong Cheng made a brief first appearance in the Gauteng Regional Court and also appeared in the Durban Regional Court on 6 May.

“He is facing one count of murder and four charges of attempted murder. He was remanded in custody and will be in the dock on 25 May. The investigation also uncovered that the suspect had earlier cut a safe open and stole two firearms at a residence on Campbell Drive in La Lucia,” he said.

Cheng is accusing of shooting at five people, killing one and injuring three more at a house in Durban North.

“Four foreign women of Asian origin were reportedly sitting in one room of their rented house when a male companion, also of Asian origin, arrived and the women reportedly asked him to give them a lift to the nearby shopping centre.”

“When the women and their male friend were getting inside the vehicle, another man, also of the same nationality as the rest of them, emerged from inside the house and fired shots. One woman sustained fatal gunshot wounds and was declared dead at the scene, whereas there other women were rushed to hospital in a critical condition. The male companion escaped unharmed,” said Netshiunda.