Watch Thai Cadets Smash Their Phones as Punishment for Bringing Them to Class

A new video, posted to YouTube on Sept. 13, appears to shows Thai naval cadets at the Communications and Information Technology School smashing their phones with concrete bricks as a punishment for bringing them to class.

The video first pans across the surprisingly calm-looking students showing Samsung smartphones and iPhones taken apart on the floor next to large blocks. A person is heard talking to the students, saying: “You just bought this, right? Expensive, eh?” in Thai, according to the Associated Press. The students are then shown bashing the phones to bits.

According to AP, the video, titled Soldiers Must Endure, has sparked controversy around Thailand for what some call archaic and unproductive views of cellphone use. Ironically, the video appears to have been shot vertically, indicating that it was filmed using a phone.

The school has since responded saying that the students offered to smash their phones voluntarily as a part of an “honor system,” AP says.

“This ‘honor system’ was not recognized by the school and it was not school policy. Therefore, the school has ordered this form of punishment to stop,” a statement on the navy’s website, Voice of Navy, said, according to AP.

[AP]