Chinese business owner and his chef charged with serving pangolin at banquet in 2015

Two people in southern China have been detained for serving pangolin, an endangered ant-eating mammal, at a company banquet two years ago, a mainland newspaper reports.

A local business owner and a chef at the company’s canteen were being investigated for illegally buying endangered wildlife after the banquet drew widespread criticism online earlier this month, The Beijing News reported.

Probe launched over claims endangered pangolin served at banquet to Chinese officials

The outcry came after pictures of the banquet, held in 2015, were posted on social media by a Hong Kong businessman who was a guest at the meal. In the post, the businessman said two local government officials had ordered the meal and it was served in their office.

The meal was offered after a group of Hong Kong businessmen conducted a three-day investment research tour of the region in 2015. The Hong Kong organisers of the trip said the businessman stayed to tour Guangxi with friends after the trip when the pangolin incident occurred.

After investigating the case, the anticorruption agency in Guangxi concluded that the meal was not organised by the local government, but a former director of a local educational institute. The director was arrested on corruption charges last year, it said, without specifying whether the charges were connected in any way to the banquet.