Chinese migrant workers have caused outrage in Indonesia after they caught this protected crocodile, tied it up and made it pose for snaps in sunglasses and a hard hat before butchering it to make soup.

The five migrant workers were employed at a nickel smelter run by Obsidian Stainless Steel (OSS) on Sulawesi Island in Indonesia, and were arrested after images of them chopping up the croc were shared online where they reportedly caused outrage among many Indonesians.

One image shows the protected crocodile tied up and made to wear a pair of sunglasses and a hard hat.

Footage of the incident shows a group of men apparently taunting the bound animal before allegedly butchering it.

Other images appear to show the crocodile’s flesh in a pot of soup.

Local residents caught the reptile last Wednesday after finding it in a weakened state in a drain not far from the smelter, according to news outlet AsiaOne.

The Chinese workers are said to have asked for the reptile so they could eat it.

Local residents notified the authorities, but by the time a team was sent to the smelter, all that remained were traces of blood and the meat in the soup, according to the local head of the Southeast Sulawesi Natural Resources Conservation Centre (BKSDA), Laode Kaida, who was quoted by the news outlet Detik.

The Chinese migrants were reportedly unaware that the crocodile was a protected species. Former government minister Roy Suryo is quoted by Tribunnews as saying: “We need to kick them out, they can’t be hiding under the guise of not knowing the rules. They can read the law and regulations.”

He added: “This is truly inhumane.”

The migrant workers face five years in prison for killing and eating the protected crocodile, according to the South China Morning Post.

The exact subspecies of the crocodile is unclear.