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n orangutan was allegedly killed and eaten recently by workers at a large plantation in Central Kalimantan, in a case illustrating how business can push endangered species into extinction.

The case is believed to have occurred at an oil palm concession owned by PT Susantri Permai, part of a Malaysian conglomerate Genting Group, in Tumbang Puroh village, Kapuas regency.

The incident allegedly began when a worker was harvesting fruit bunches on Jan. 28 before encountering and being chased by an orangutan.

He later told the story to his coworkers and local villagers, who banded together to hunt for the endangered animal.

The orangutan was then shot dead with a rifle, before it was taken to a nearby camp.

“There, just like a pig or a deer, the orangutan was skinned, chopped up and cooked,” said an eyewitness who works at the plantation as a fruit harvester but refused to be named for safety reasons.

“They [the hunters] were also the ones who ate it.”

After receiving the report, Kapuas Police chief Sr. Comr. Jukiman Situmorang said he had brought in 10 people for questioning on Tuesday, but had yet to name any of them suspects.

“Indications are rife that they perpetrated the crime. They all work for PT Susantri Permai,” he said on Wednesday.

The Jakarta Post tried to contact Susantri Permai representatives in Central Kalimantan but to no avail.

Jukiman said the killing took place on Jan. 28, but the police did not receive the report until this week due to the harsh terrain around the crime scene, which takes around 12 hours to reach by car from Kapuas.

The perpetrators could face up to five years in prison if found guilty under the law on biodiversity conservation, he said.

The Centre for Orangutan Protection (COP) condemned the incident, saying it would not have happened if the company, a member of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), truly adhered to sustainability policies.

“The case highlights a mistake from the very beginning. The plantation concession is located inside the orangutan’s habitat,” COP principal Hardi Baktiantoro said.

He said reports submitted by the company to the RSPO might not reflect the situation in the field, which was why a concession could overlap with orangutan habitats.

Orangutans are facing grave threats from a loss of rainforest habitat as a result of illegal logging, land conversion and forest fires, as well as hunting and climate change.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has adjusted its status for the species from “endangered” to “critically endangered” — one category before extinction.

As orangutans keep losing their habitats, they are forced to roam in plantation areas in search of food, which can lead to them being killed.