'Facebook rapist' repatriated after SA prison escape

Thabo Bester escaped after his cell was set alight and a corpse was put in it to give the impression he had died

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A South African rapist and murderer who escaped prison was flown back to his home country in the early hours of Thursday following his arrest last week in Tanzania.

Thabo Bester fled from jail last May by faking his own death in a fire and planting a corpse in his cell.

He was arrested with his girlfriend, celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana.

The pair arrived aboard a chartered plane at an airport on the outskirts of the commercial hub, Johannesburg.

They will be placed under heavy police guard, senior officials have told the BBC's Pumza Fihlani.

Arrangements are underway for Mr Bester to return to a high security prison to serve a life sentence for murder, plus preparations for a court appearance on fresh charges with his girlfriend for his brazen prison break.

Mr Bester is known as the "Facebook rapist" for using the social networking site to lure his victims.

He was convicted in 2012 for the rape and murder of his model girlfriend Nomfundo Tyhulu. A year earlier, he was found guilty of raping and robbing two other women.

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Thabo Bester