A Thai celebrity chef was slammed after burying chicken alive and force-feeding it coconut milk.

Sahawat Chopchingchai claimed the ancient technique - starving and torturing the bird - produces a sweet texture to the meat.

Footage shows how he buried the chicken in the ground with only its head and neck poking up through the earth.

He then dropped coconut milk into its beak while telling how the sadistic method makes the chicken meat tender and and juicy.

Sahawat claimed the chicken should be given three drops of coconut milk a day for two weeks while buried alive under the hot sun before being cooked.

However, the chef's social media video sparked a furious backlash and the police visited Sahawat at his home in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.

Outraged followers slammed the chef, who owns a chain of restaurants.

One follower said: ''I'm so happy that so many branches of his restaurant are closed. No more support from me in this life, I promise.''

Another former fan, Apiwat, said: ''There is a good reason why people don't use this method of cooking anymore. It is cruel and belongs in the past. Why even give people the idea to use it?''

Sahawat defended the stunt and claimed the chicken was only buried briefly in order to record it for his video.

He said: ''I would never do it for real, I'm not that cruel. This was only a demonstration to show the old-fashioned way of preparing chicken.

''I made a mistake and when people told me that it was not appropriate I deleted it straight away. I am sorry that it made people unhappy.''

Police are now investigating Sahawat on suspicion of animal cruelty and illegally slaughtering a chicken.

Satit Patyaariyakul from the Thai Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the crime could carry a fine of up to 280,000 baht and up to five years in prison.

Animal welfare group Watchdog Thailand, who made a complaint to police over the video, said: ''This is clearly an offense against cruelty to animals.

''The condition of the chicken in the video suggests it had been buried for two weeks because its feathers had changed colour.

''If Sahawat did not keep the chicken like that for two weeks, he recorded the video and deceived his viewers to make them think that he did.''