Student threatens suicide if confiscated phone is not returned

The girl was reportedly playing a game on her phone inside the class when she was caught by her teacher.

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The dependence of younger generations around the world on their mobile phones is well known but a student in China took it to a whole new level by threatening to commit suicide if her phone was not returned.

The girl, a student in China's southern Hunan province, brought the phone to her school but did not submit it as per the rules. South China Morning Post reports that when her teacher found the phone, it was immediately confiscated. The student approached the teacher in person, asking that her phone be returned. When her request was turned down, she wrote a letter in which she threatened to commit suicide. "I know it was my fault that I did not hand in my cell phone, but please think about it. I used to go out to play a lot, so my dad bought me the phone. Now I’m asking you if you will return it, and if you don’t I’ll kill myself," read the letter, photos of which went viral on Chinese social media.

It is reported that the phone was handed back and the parents of the student were informed about the letter. It is also reported that the student has since quit the school.

China is battling a mobile phone addiction which is widespread among its younger population. Instances of rampant video gaming on phones has been a cause of grave concerns in educational institutes across a country which has 788 million mobile internet subscribers.