MULTAN, Feb 15: A tribal council in a remote Punjab village ordered a man to walk neck-deep through freezing water for 10 minutes to prove his son was innocent of stealing, officials said on Thursday.

But the man, Khuda Baksh, only lasted two minutes and was fined Rs50,000 (850 dollars) by the elders at Tumman Khosa village, said a local official on condition of anonymity.

Dozens of people watched on Wednesday as the man was sent into a pond and told to walk 80 feet (24 metres) with his hands and feet tied and only his head above water, said residents.

The man took the bizarre trial by ordeal on behalf of his son Tariq Khan to clear him of a charge that he had stolen money from a fellow villager. —AFP