Six Vietnamese under house arrest after livestreaming langur slaughter

The six men, in their thirties and fifties, have been placed under investigation for "violating regulations on management and protection of endangered, rare animals.

On November 17, Phan Trong Son sold to Thai Kim Hong a langur for over VND1 million ($43). Hong then called Phan Van Hoi, Thai Dinh Quy, Thai Vinh Quang and a man so far identified as Bien to go to Thai Van Sang’s house to kill the animal, cook it and eat it for a liquor drinking session.

Whether Bien would also be under investigation is not known.

As the men slaughtered the langur, Phan Van Hoi used a phone and livestreamed it on his personal Facebook account.

After studying the images extracted from the video, authorities determined that the animal killed was a black-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix nigripe).

The creature is classified among rare animals protected by Vietnamese laws from exploitation or use for commercial purposes. The animal, native in Cambodia and Vietnam, is listed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature as endangered, with its population threatened by hunting and habitat loss, due to human's activities such as construction and agriculture.

If found guilty, the offenders can be fined VND500,000 to 2,000,000 ($21.67 to $86.67) and/or be jailed between one and five years.