In Roman times, the punishment for a public official found guilty of corruption was to be placed in a sack with a dog, a monkey and a rat. The sack would then be sewn shut ant thrown into a river.
Somewhere I read that, in such situations in the old days in China, they would put a rat on the guy's stomach, place a double-faced bowl over it, pour hot coals in the top half, and watch as the rat dug itself away from the heat.