Teachers at an elementary school in the Sukabumi Regency of West Java, Indonesia have been penalised after they caught students smoking but forced the children to smoke more as a form of “punishment.”
The incident that unfolded last Saturday, 3 Nov, at the school’s teacher lounge was caught on camera by one of the schoolteachers. The video has since gone viral after it was uploaded online.
In the video, the children can be seen forced to smoke more as their fellow classmates laugh at them:
According to local news publication SukabumiUpdate, the video showing the shocking penalty has outraged members of the public. According to the daily, the school principal did not deny what had happened and said that more information will be released in due course.
Local policymakers have also criticised the school, noting that smoking indoors violates the region’s smoking laws. One local report suggests that the authorities could slap the school with a fine.
The Commission for the Protection of Indonesian Children (KPAI) has also hit out at the school, noting that there are far more appropriate ways to discipline the students than forcing them to continue smoking.