Boy, 9, locked in a cage and thrown into pond
by neighbours 'to teach him lesson'
Angry neighbours then invited locals to hurl insults at the alleged thief as he stood caged and shivering in the pond during the sick punishment
A boy aged just nine was caged and thrown into a pond after stealing from a neighbour's home as a form of sick punishment.
Chinese villagers were then invited by the scorned neighbours to hurl insults at the youngster, in a bid to make him 'learn his lesson'.
The boy, Jin Hung, was relieved of his torment after police were called by his parents.
Local media reported that his two neighbours, Yuan Kang, 35, and Cheng Yeh, 40, were fined fined £20 each after the shivering boy was released.
Pictures of his torment emerged on Chinese social media website Weibo, with many reacting furiously to the neighbour's actions.
Speaking to reporters, Yuan said: "We all knew in the village that there was somebody stealing, if it wasn't eggs from our henhouse or vegetables, it was cash from inside empty properties.
"When he was caught red-handed we went round to his house and demanded to see inside his room, where we found a jar filled with money hidden under his bed," Yuan continued.
"This was obviously his ill gotten gains, and he needed to be taught a lesson that stealing is wrong."
