[THEGUARDIAN] Two men in rural South Africa are suspected of killing a farmworker by throwing oranges at him.
Citing witness accounts, police lieutenant-colonel Moatshe Ngoepe said the suspects had allegedly argued with the man, then collected oranges and begun hurling them at him.
"They started pelting the dear departed with all those loose oranges, killing him on the spot," Ngoepe said. However,
those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things...
he cautioned that an investigation was still under way and aspects of a case he described as complicated still had to be verified.
The man was declared dead at the scene and had "no visible injury", suggesting he might have suffered blunt trauma, according to Ngoepe. He did not comment on the cause of the argument that led to the assault. Police and prosecutors are awaiting the results of a postmortem examination.
The suspects were detained on Tuesday and later released pending formal charges, which could include murder. The assault happened near Tzaneen, a town in Limpopo province in northern South Africa.
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