Rat tied up and ‘shamed’ for stealing rice

Photos have emerged on social media in China that appear to show a rat tied up and “shamed” after stealing rice from a shop.

The photos – posted to the Chinese micro-blogging platform Weibo – show the rodent tied by all four paws to some kind of trolley and wearing a sign explaining that it was caught stealing rice from a convenience store.

They were apparently taken in Heyuan city in southern China’s Guangdong Province.

According to the Daily Mail, two pictures were posted on Jan 23 by a Weibo user with the screen name “jiu lian shan she zhang”.

The Weibo user said: “A friend of mine found a small rat in the warehouse of a convenience store.”

He or she then expressed sympathy for the “poor rat” being treated in such a way ahead of Chinese New Year.

 

The owner of the shop where the rat had been caught confirmed that the creature was found by his staff.

The man, named Lai Tiancai, said “it was just a rat” and this was a “small incident“.

The uploader has called for attention from the Shenzhen Traffic Police through his post.

In response to the pictures, the Shenzhen Traffic Police posted three smiling face emojis on its official account on Weibo, the Mail reported.