A video of a Chinese company allegedly forcing its employees to crawl on a street for failing to reach their annual targets has prompted outrage online.

According to Daily Mail, the staff was made to walk on all fours through the streets of Tengzhou. A supervisor walked ahead of them holding a flag of the company, which sells beauty products.

Two other workers who walked alongside them filmed the video, which was posted online by news organisations. Users on Chinese social media sites expressed their anger at the demeaning nature of the punishment.

The police arrived shortly and intervened to break up the brutal punishment, while issuing a verbal warning to the head of the team. The company was also reportedly ordered to halt business by local authorities.