The men were shot in the head by three or four men, who broke into a factory cafeteria while the victims were having lunch with two other Chinese colleagues.

The assailants took some 80,000 rand (US$12,400) and shot two of the Chinese before fleeing in the victims' cars.

One of the victims died at the scene and the other was pronounced dead on the way to the hospital.

Local police have arrested three suspects.

The dead workers were employed at a plastic bag factory in an industrial area about 50 km from Bloemfontein.

Although there are relatively few Chinese in South Africa, they have become an easy target for robberies and murders in recent years. Most Chinese are in the country to conduct business.

At least 12 Chinese have been murdered and another eight injured in robberies across South Africa since January, with economic losses topping US$900,000, according to a Johannesburg Chinese community security center.

South Africa is often labeled "the violent crime capital of the world." Levels of recorded crime began to increase in the mid-1980s, climbed dramatically in the early 1990s and continue to escalate. Although statistics vary from source to source owing to differences in methods of calculation, South Africa can generally claim the unwanted honor of having the highest per capita murder rate in the world.