Johannesburg - A white South African farmer has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly gassing 47 blacks, including 19 children, after his labourers refused to turn up for work.
A police spokesman said that Mr John McGregor (52) allegedly threw toxic phostoxin tablets into the houses of farmworkers and their families early on Tuesday morning after they refused to come to work last Monday.
Phostoxin, used to treat grain in silos, releases fumes once the tablets make contact with oxygen.
The incident took place near Potchefstroom, a town about 100 km south-west of Johannesburg.
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The 47 people, ranging in age from three months to 65 years, had been treated and discharged from hospital.