Young duck rustlers punished after being caught stealing birds from village pond

Duck rustlers in China were made to endure an unusual punishment when they were caught stealing the birds from a village pond. Locals forced the two teenage boys to kneel by the side of the road holding two of the dead ducks in their mouths.



The 14-year-old crooks then had dead birds slung round their necks by their legs as they walked through a village in southern region of Guangxi. "These teenagers have no respect for property or life so they have paid with their shame. They really needed to be taught a lesson," said village head Yong Ku.

"They are always stealing to get money for drink or cigarettes. They are delinquents who do not have any respect for anyone in the area or indeed themselves. But it is hard to look cool holding a dead duck in your mouth while you spit out feathers. Maybe this will deter them from further crime," he added.



Police say the villagers should have contacted them about the thefts. "People should not take the law into their own hands. This kind of behaviour is not acceptable regardless what the boys did. It goes back to medieval like punishments," said a police spokesman. But Ku said: "The police are useless. By the time they get here the evidence would have been long gone. We prefer our own justice."