A nine-year-old boy was locked in a tiny cage then forced to stand half-naked in a pond as punishment for stealing . Jin Hung 's cruel castigation by neighbours caused outrage in China after pictures were shared on social media . Locals Yuan Kang , 35 , and Cheng Yeh , 40 , decided to mete out their own justice after accusing him of stealing food and money from the village , the People 's Daily Online reports . Caged : Neighbours decided to lock up the nine-year-old themselves so he could learn his lesson . Shivering : Nine-year-old Jin Hung was stripped to his waist and forced to stand in a pond while locals shouted abuse at him for stealing . He was first locked in a cage so small he could not stand up and told to reflect on his crime . When this failed to make him cry , he was stripped down to his waist and made to stand in the pond while villagers hurled insults . His ordeal only ended when Jin 's parents called the police and the neighbours were made to let the shivering youngster go and fined £20 each . Counting the cost : Jin Hung counts money after being caught stealing by angry neighbours in China . But Yuan remained unrepentant , arguing it would teach the child a lesson . He said : 'We all knew in the village that there was somebody stealing , if it was n'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 . Cold punishment : Villagers shout insults at Jin Hung while making him stand half-naked in a pond . 'This was obviously his ill gotten gains , and he needed to be taught a lesson that stealing is wrong . ' Pictures of the boy 's ordeal were later published on Weibo sparking a debate . While many argued that the adults should be locked in a cage for child cruelty , others agreed the punishment would teach him a lesson .
neighbours take drastic action after neighbours and money goes missing . Boy did n't cry in cage so neighbours force him to stay in cold pond . Only breaks free after his parents called police who fined him £ ##500 . Incident has divided neighbours with many agreeing while neighbours brand it cruel .