In the Cambodian city of Phnom Penh, a pet lion roaming on the streets frightened citizens, a video of which went viral on social media.

Videos and photos of a pet lion roaming the streets went viral on social networking site Twitter, much to the astonishment of onlookers.

The video shows a pet lion roaming the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, without the lion’s owner.

Friend shot this video this morning. Is the lion loose in BKK1? #phnompenh #cambodia pic.twitter.com/mZWBjdR0XR

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— Mike Gebremedhin (@Mgebremedhin) August 16, 2021

According to the report, the lion was kept by a Chinese businessman who was first confiscated by the Cambodian authorities after the TikTok video went viral, but it was returned to its owner after the intervention of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.

A lion being kept as a pet in a house in Phnom Penh by wealthy Chinese businessman Qi Xiao has been wandering in the street outside, apparently unsupervised. How long will this madness and cruelty be allowed to continue? 1/4 pic.twitter.com/8MXiFPObMN

— Andrew MacGregor Marshall (@zenjournalist) August 16, 2021

Scottish journalist Andrew McGregor shared photos of the tiger, saying, “And this is why you don’t keep lions as a pet in the middle of the city, now exploring the streets of Phnom Penh.”

And this is why you don’t keep lions as a pet in the middle of the city, now exploring the streets of Phnom Penh #Cambodia (photo credit: unknown) pic.twitter.com/2HGr2iYmKE

— Stephen Higgins (@sjhiggins1973) August 16, 2021

The owner took the lion back home after the video and photos went viral, but the owner of the pet lion has been criticized by social media users.