Photo: Screenshot of video posted online

Merchants in Zhaoqing, South China's Guangdong Province, have sparked a heated debate on Monday after they tied a woman to a post in a market after she was caught buying goods using fake money, reported Phoenix Weekly. The local police said that the woman did not know she was using fake money, adding that the merchants tied the woman just to "keep her under control but did not abuse her." 

Market vendors claimed that the woman had been caught for multiple times in the market with fake money. They sent a special person to watch the woman, and when she took out fake money, they immediately caught her and called the police. 

The police said that the woman didn't know she was using fake money and also confirmed that the crowd tied her up only to control her. 

The case is still under investigation. There was no evidence to prove the merchants' claim that the woman has used fake money for "multiple times," said the police.