A teenage Thai mum sparked outrage when she locked her two-year-old daughter in a dog cage 'to discipline her'.

The unnamed young mother, 17, was caught on CCTV footage appearing to physically abuse the toddler by whipping her at a residence in Chonburi province on February 18.

Despite the girl's loud sobbing, the cruel woman was relentless and continued to batter her before locking her inside the pet cage.

The child's father, from whom the teen mum is separated, witnessed the scene unfold and reported the alleged child abuse to police.

Cops and Plutaluang sub-district chief Charnchai Nitsin went to the family's home to investigate.

Charnchai said the mother claimed she had hit her child 'to discipline her and to get her father's attention.'

She further claimed her daughter often played with their dog, and would climb into the cage voluntarily.

Meanwhile, the teen's stepmum said the couple had separated due to the woman being underage. She added that the woman 'never abused her daughter' and only hit her when she broke something.

The toddler has been taken to a child shelter while police conducted investigations. Preliminary results found no injuries on her body.

Police Colonel Khomsan Khamtunkaew, superintendent of the Plutaluang Police Station, said: 'The girl is staying at the Child and Family Shelter in Chonburi for psychological evaluations.

'The mum has been allowed to see her and sleep next to her under staff supervision.

'The family will undergo professional assessment to determine the next course of action. If they pass the evaluation, the daughter will be returned to their home.'