Watch: 13-year-old Pakistani boy has his hand chopped off after asking for wages

A 13-year-old Pakistani boy's hand was cut off after he reportedly asked his employer for his salary and food wages.

The boy's employer, identified as Shafqat Bibi, purportedly owed the boy a sum of 3,000 Pakistani rupees (about $29 US). Instead of paying him, Bibi put the boy's hand in a fodder-cutting machine to teach him "a lesson" when he refused to work after she'd withheld his wages.

“Last week, Shafqat Bibi got furious with Irfan when he demanded [his] salary. She cut his right hand with a fodder-cutting machine to teach him a lesson that he demands salary but doesn’t complete his job of feeding the cattle,” NDTV quoted the teen's mother as saying.

A fodder cutter shreds straw and hay into small pieces in order to supplement horse and cattle feed.

NDTV reported that the boy was taken to a local hospital after the incident, but they were unable to salvage his hand.

Punjab province police initially refused to file charges against Bibi, but the child's mother was able to take the case to the Punjab province's chief minister, Shahbaz Sharif.

Sharif opened an inquiry into the incident and requested a report from local law enforcement as to why they wouldn't charge the woman when she reportedly — and unlawfully — mutilated the boy's hand.

Bibi was arrested and posted bail 10 days after the incident, and two other men were also named as suspects in the case.

Mian Saqib Nisar, chief justice of Pakistan, took over the case Wednesday and required the Punjab police to submit an official report on the boy's mutilation within 48 hours.