A vendor beats a gong to advertise the monkey flesh he has for sale. The meat hangs from a makeshift stand made out of bamboo on Tuesday, December 12, 2006. [Photo: hinews.cn]

A man narrowly escaped arrest after illegally selling monkey flesh for 600 yuan per kilogram early on Tuesday morning in Haikou, capital of south China's Hainan province.

The man beat a gong to advertise his wares, but fled before the public security bureau could apprehend him.

Nanguo Metropolitan Newspaper reports the vendor claimed his monkey flesh was fresh from south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The meat sold quickly and one client purchased the brain for 300 yuan. By the time the man had to flee, only one leg was left.

The paper said some residents who wanted to buy the flesh were deterred by the high price of 600 yuan, or 76 US dollars, per kilogram. Others disapproved of the practice, saying it's cruel to kill a monkey and sell it as food.

An official from the Haikou Forestry Public Security Bureau said killing monkeys and selling their meat breaks the laws protecting wild animals. The illegal profits should be seized by the industry and commerce authorities, or a department for wildlife administration.

If apprehended, the vendor will also be fined six to ten times the total sum of money he made from his sales.