Several neighbors had him restrained.
The young man had been caught stealing in broad daylight on a street in Santiago del Estero, Argentina, and while the police were on their way, someone alerted the person who was least convenient for him at that moment: his mother. She did not take long to show up, and she was just as quick to take off her belt.
In front of neighbors and police officers, the woman gave him a round of belt strikes that was recorded and went viral. But the best part was not the physical punishment, but the lecture that accompanied it: shouting, she reminded him of the values she had taught him at home and demanded that he choose the path of honest work instead of theft.
Amid the laughter and applause of those watching the scene, it became clear that for that family, the shame of the belt hurt less than Mom’s disappointment.