Chinese workers in Indonesia face five years in jail after killing, eating protected crocodile
- Five employees at a nickel smelter on Sulawesi island turned the animal into soup after posing with it in pictures and a video that went viral
- Environmental workers say mining activity has damaged wildlife habitats in the region, forcing animals into contact with humans
Five Chinese workers at a nickel smelter on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island are facing up to five years in prison after they killed a crocodile and prepared it as soup, according to a local conservation authority.
Their acts were captured in photographs and a video that later went viral, prompting the Southeast Sulawesi Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) to take legal action against the miners, who were deemed to have violated Indonesian law as crocodiles are a protected animal.
The crocodile was caught by locals on Wednesday after it was found in a weak condition in a drain near the nickel smelter, which is run by Obsidian Stainless Steel (OSS).
The Chinese workers reportedly asked the locals for the crocodile, which they planned to eat. Before it was killed and eaten, the animal was tied up and pictures were taken of it wearing sunglasses and an OSS-branded safety helmet.
The locals notified the natural resources agency, who then deployed a team to the smelter on Wednesday, but they were too late and could only find traces of the crocodile’s blood as well as leftover meat in the soup, according to BKSDA local branch head Laode Kaida, as quoted by news portal Detik.
The government agency has summoned the Chinese workers for questioning.