The boy was tied by his mother [Photo: Courtesy]

Footage of police freeing a young boy allegedly tied to a post by his mother as a punishment has surfaced online.

The shocking punishment was meted out in Colombia, South America, and saw the toddler's wrists lashed to a beam, with the lad balancing on a small red plastic chair.

In the video, the woman weeps while the bemused boy remains stony-faced throughout his ordeal at a family's shanty town home in the Latin American country.

A cop squats down and carefully cuts loose the lad while another police officer quizzes the woman in Spanish in the clip posted by the Sun .

After the boy is released, he is carried away by the police but it is unclear exactly what his fate will be.

But it is understood the child's parent is facing child cruelty charges.