HANOI (DPA) – Authorities in central Vietnam have jailed three men for live streaming the slaughter and eating of an endangered monkey, state media reported Friday (April 19).

Phan Van Hoi, 33, and Thai Dinh Quy, 58, were each sentenced to spend a year in prison and Thai Kim Hong, 51, received a 15-month sentence in a trial in Ha Tinh province’s Huong Khe District People’s Court on Wednesday for “violating regulations on the protection of precious and rare wild animals,” the Vnexpress news site reported.

Three other men, Phan Trong Son, 45, Thai Vinh Quang, 59, and Thai Van Sang, 41, received suspended one-year sentences.

The case began in November when Hoi live streamed the group of men killing a monkey that Son had sold to Hong and eating its raw brain.

Some people in Vietnam believe eating the animal’s brain imparts intelligence.

The video clip went viral on Facebook and local media, sparking protests in Vietnam. The clip was then removed but not before being downloaded by numerous people.

Authorities determined that the monkey was an endangered red-shanked douc and put the men under house arrest in December.

Native to Vietnam and Cambodia, the red-shanked douc is a protected species under Vietnamese law.

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