A court in the southwestern city of Chongqing on Monday sentenced a man to one year in prison for burning China’s national flag.

The Zhong County People’s Court convicted the man, surnamed Liu, of “desecrating the national flag,” according to a statement published Tuesday. The court determined that Liu had burned the flag, which he’d taken from a public square, “to vent his anger” after losing his phone while intoxicated on Oct. 9.

The court said the man’s behavior had “damaged the image of the country and the dignity of the national flag, and shocked the patriotic feelings of the public.” The flag in question was being flown in the square to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China.

Under Chinese law, anyone who “desecrates the national flag” can be punished with up to 15 days in police custody or up to three years in prison for severe offences. In October, police in the eastern city of Hangzhou detained a man for an unspecified period of time after he “drunkenly stomped and urinated” on the national flag. (Image: VCG)