CHINESE ENGINEER KILLS SELF OVER LOST '4G' IPHONE

From USA TODAY
ON DEADLINE
7-22-09

A Chinese worker killed himself after a fourth-generation iPhone prototype he was responsible for disappeared.

The 25-year-old engineer, Sun Danyong, who worked for Foxconn, jumped from a 12-story building last week. A Chinese newspaper reported that his property had been seized and that he was held in solitary confinement, where he faced "unbearable interrogation techniques" for having lost one of 16 "4G" prototypes.

Foxconn apologized, but questioned reports that police beat Sun.

Apple issued a statement this afternoon. A spokeswoman said the Silicon Valley firm is "saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death. We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect."

Reminds me of a widely reported incident about fifteen years ago when a Chinese refrigerator plant had a ‘quality’ problem, and took seven workers out the back of the plant and shot them. One of the workers was only seventeen years old and had only worked there for a few days.
No more refrigerator quality problems.