Man accused of killing in parking space row

A white man has been arrested on charges of beating a black man to death in front of the man’s wife and daughter in a dispute over a parking space, police in South Africa said today.

Police said they did not believe the attack was racially motivated, though local media reported the assault was the latest in a series of racial attacks in Carletonville, a town outside Johannesburg.

The man, arrested on Sunday, was suspected of beating George Mthethwa, 40, to death after the two fought over a parking space, police spokeswoman Mellisa Bezuidenhout said.

Mthethwa’s wife and daughter watched helplessly.

Mthethwa suffered extensive brain damage and died on Monday night in a local hospital.

The police withheld the 23-year-old assailant’s name pending a court appearance.