A pickpocket 's victim decided to take revenge by sticking a sign reading ' I am a thief ' to the criminal 's back , who was then pictured as he tried to steal from others . Chinese police confirmed they are investigating after the bus passenger , who has not been named , took several pictures of the pickpocket attempting to steal from other unsuspecting people . The pictures were posted online last week after being taken in the city of Yulin in southern China 's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region , The People 's Daily reported . A victim of a pickpocket decided to take revenge by sticking a sign reading ' I am a thief ' to the criminal 's back . Unaware of the sign on his back , the thief is pictured with his hand covertly placed in a backpack belonging to a man waiting at a bus stop . Having found nothing of value , he is then seen switching his attention to a black bag hanging off the young man 's shoulder . After the pictures went viral , police confirmed that they were aware of the matter . A police spokesman said they were investigating and trying to track down the victim , the photographer and the alleged thief . The thief , unaware of the sign on his back , was then pictured trying to steal from other people at a bus stop . Ye Chung , of Yulin city police , said : 'We were already aware of these images circulating , and I can confirm that we are trying to track down those involved so that we can get to the truth of the matter . 'We are in particular appealing for anybody who knows the alleged thief to contact us and identify him , but we also need to speak to the suspected victim who had been waiting for the bus and if possible the person who took the pictures . ' The pictures were uploaded online without any comment . It is unclear why the victim did not report the matter to police at the same time as taking the pictures . Chinese police confirmed they are investigating the matter after the pictures were posted online and went viral .
Chinese police confirmed they are investigating after pictures went viral . The images show a man in his 20s being dragged by two men on the ground and then beaten with batons before he was thrown into a van.