Rat tied up to a plastic mesh board
The rat is said to have stolen bread from the man who tied it, force-feed it wine and set it on fire Video screen grab

In a bizarre incident, a man filmed himself torturing a rat for stealing bread from his home in South-west China. Shi from Maguan, Yunnan Province tied the rodent to a plastic mesh board.

A video released by Pear Video shows the rodent's four limbs strapped onto the board.

Read more

After being tied up, the rat was force-fed baijiu, a strong alcoholic wine-based drink made from rice. The man in the video can be heard saying: "Look at you, not leaving a drop of wine to me, drink it up!"

The man then showed the rat a piece of bread and kept torturing it. The rat which was trying to twitch and move was later set on fire, the Daily Mail reports.

"See how you ate the bread! Now I see how you like it with a bit of fire!" the man added.

After the heinous act, the man turned the camera towards himself to explain his actions. He claimed that he was "provoked" by the rat. "Rats are vermin that everyone catch them and beat them," he said.

It is not known if the man will be punished for cruelty.

China