Man Commits Suicide After Losing Prototype iPhone

[RossMc]

Don't know if its been up or not but i done a search of the forum and it came back with no results

An employee at a factory that makes iPhones in China killed himself after a prototype went missing, and Apple Inc. responded Wednesday by saying its suppliers are required to treat workers with dignity and respect.

The dead worker, Sun Danyong, 25, worked in product communications at Foxconn Technology Group, a Taiwanese firm that makes many Apple products at a massive factory in the southern city of Shenzhen, near Hong Kong.

Although Apple and Foxconn have confirmed Sun's suicide, they have not provided details about the circumstances, which have been reported by the state-run Southern Metropolis Daily, one of the region's most popular papers.

There's tremendous pressure on employees dealing with Apple's new products to maintain a high-level secrecy over the gadgets, traditionally launched amid great suspense and a big marketing buzz. Apple is also a constant target of prying journalists, rabidly faithful customers and competitors who make great efforts to try to steal a peek at its latest technology.

Sun was responsible for sending iPhone prototypes to Apple, and on July 13 he reported that he was missing one of the 16 fourth-generation units in his possession, the newspaper reported. His friends said company security guards searched his apartment, detained him and beat him, the paper reported.

In the early morning of July 16, Sun jumped from the 12th floor of his apartment building, the paper said.

Jill Tan, an Apple spokeswoman in Hong Kong, issued only a brief statement about the incident.

"We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death," Tan said. "We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect."

[rubicon03]

steve jobs sent his goon squad over and took care of business

[sdge]

Yea, I heard about this... but really how much conclusive evidence is there?

I mean, just because one even proceeds another event, doesn't mean the first event is the cause of the second event.

[aknightstale41]

He probably would still be alive if he was working at a Pre factory.

[iphonewarrior]

He probably would still be alive if he was working at a Pre factory.

lol.


It's probably because he lost his prototype iphone with explicit material on... the thought of his mrs finding out destroyed him :ok:ok

[scandalex]

Interesting that fun is being made of this. The fact remains, it's still a life tragically lost; no matter what the circumstances behind it are.

[aknightstale41]

Actually, to get a little pedantic, the opposite of birth is death, but life has no opposite, so it cannot be lost. :)
It's all good.

[Tinman]

I find the emotion over this single suicide perplexing. Since that guy killed himself there have been countless other, more preventable, deaths due to war, terrorism, car accidents, murder, famine, disease, etc. Something to think about, before getting teary-eyed over one suicide, no matter the back-story.


--
Mike

[iphonewarrior]

This threads getting a little deep.

The reasons for forums are to enable the poster to say what they like and express there opinions. But don't go over board....


'Interesting that fun is being made of this. The fact remains, it's still a life tragically lost; no matter what the circumstances behind it are.'


Good response aknightstale41 :)

[jclake]

I don't think it was a suicide. There have been other instances when someone in China committed "suicide" after they were identified as the source of an incident that was a public relations black spot.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2814037/Chinese-boss-of-toy-firm-involved-in-Mattel-recall-commits-suicide.html (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/2814037/Chinese-boss-of-toy-firm-involved-in-Mattel-recall-commits-suicide.html)

[rubicon03]

well alteast we know there will be a new iphone next year lol

[Europa]

I don't think it was a suicide. There have been other instances when someone in China committed "suicide" after they were identified as the source of an incident that was a public relations black spot.


Interesting, I didn't even think of that. That reminds me, the first time I was walking through the Bodies Exhibition in Vegas, I had this overwhelming feeling these young Chinese guys didn't donate their bodies or even die from natural causes. They were all young and in excellent shape with no trauma or visible evidence of any disease processes that I could see (I'm not a medical examiner...I'm just saying I couldn't see anything wrong...although there very well could have been). I know it's a bit paranoid, but as I walked out, I remember thinking, maybe these guys were wrongfully arrested and then lethally injected, simply because they had excellent physiques but no one to really miss them. Months later, I saw the Dateline hidden cams from China that were prompted by a Woman in Michigan (IIRC) who recieved a package and opened it thinking it was parts for a table she ordered online, but instead found a human head from China that was delivered to the wrong address. It was investigated and it turned out they weren't following the proper import laws and that got the ball rolling.

[Tinman]

...but instead found a human head from China that was delivered to the wrong address. It was investigated and it turned out they weren't following the proper import laws and that got the ball rolling.

I bet heads rolled after that incident.

Thank you, I'll be here all week. Try the lamb. Be kind to your servers.


--
Mike

[RossMc]

Update :

After a Foxconn employee allegedly committed suicide when an iPhone prototype vanished, an official with the Chinese manufacturing company said the former employee had demonstrated a pattern of suspiciously losing products.

Speaking with The New York Times, James Lee, general manager of China operations, said the employee’s explanation for the missing phone did not seem credible.
“Several times he had some products missing, then he got them back,” Lee said. “We don’t know who took the product, but it was at his stop.”
A Times reporter was given a tour of the Chinese company’s facilities, but was not allowed to see the assembly line to protect trade secrets. When the reporter spoke with employees outside of the company’s control, one of about 15 admitted they were forced to work overtime beyond the legal limit.


Sun Danyong allegedly killed himself after a prototype he was responsible for — reportedly a fourth-generation iPhone — went missing. Prior to his death, friends said he told them he was subjected to “unbearable interrogation techniques” by Foxconn employees, leading some to believe he was beaten. Sun reportedly had his property seized and was held in solitary confinement before he jumped from a 12-story building last week.
The Times also reported that Foxconn paid Sun’s family a settlement of about $44,000 and an Apple laptop computer. As a translator spoke to the family last week, a security guard, joined by two men in Foxconn shirts, threatened the translator and told them to stop asking the family questions. Foxconn officials later said the person was not on their staff.
The drama continues, much to Apple’s chagrin, we’re certain.

[BrownGem]

WOW Europa @ a human head. I remember watching documentaries on China after the Olympics. The China we weren't allowed to see during the event. Amazing stuff. Did the bodies exhibit mention cause of death for each um....display? I almost went to the exhibition but somehow couldn't bring myself to do it.
LOL Tinman

[aknightstale41]

This reminds me of the movie "coma", where people go in the hospital for routine surgeries, and then slip into a coma, just so there organs can be harvested. Creepy :037:skeleton

[RossMc]

Heres another Update

Foxconn International, a Chinese iPhone manufacturer, has paid over $40,000 to the family of the employee who committed suicide last week, according to the man's brother, the New York Times reported.
Sun Danyong, a employee of Foxconn, a contract manufacturing partner of Apple, Inc. jumped from the 12th floor of his apartment building on July 16, according to an Associated Press report. His friends stated that Sun's apartment had been searched and he had been beaten by security following the disappearance of an iPhone G4 prototype.
The security officer Gu Qinming, who has been suspended by Foxconn, denied allegations that he harmed Sun.
An Apple spokeswoman in Hong Kong said the company is awaiting results of the investigation into Sun's death and that Apple requires its suppliers to "treat all workers with dignity and respect."
China's Foxconn General Manager James Lee defended his company's conduct in an interview with the New York Times. He said that management had not found Sun's explanation of the missing phone credible, and that Sun had previous problems with missing equipment.

[billnye97]

I find it interesting that another person committed "suicide" by jumping out of a window. Wow the settlement is only 44,000 and an Apple computer.

[ItsMeArjay]

I bet they only gave them an outdated powerbook haha..but that still sucks with the whole situation

[kirbaby]

must've been some good stuff. :D

[Classified]

Wasnt it thisngs like this that got the ball rolling here in the US to start unions? Like forced overtime and low wages? I wonder what would happen if massive unions started over there? It almost sounds like that needs to happen to protect the workers from the manufacturers. I wonder if a lot of manufacturing would move to other countries? Or even back here?

[Europa]

WOW Europa @ a human head. I remember watching documentaries on China after the Olympics. The China we weren't allowed to see during the event. Amazing stuff. Did the bodies exhibit mention cause of death for each um....display? I almost went to the exhibition but somehow couldn't bring myself to do it.
LOL Tinman
No, I did ask them when I was there and I got the scripted response, "All of them died from natural causes and their bodies were either donated to science or there was no family to claim them". I'm not a spiritual person, but even I was overwhelmed with the feeling of how this is the ultimate desecration for someone that did not donate their body. Their bodies are indefinitely shipped all over the country and displayed for entertainment. I mean, they say it's for science, and there is no denying that it is a great learning experience, but it's not like they are going to universities for med students.

I really wish I could have gone to it years ago when I was taking anatomy, it's so much better than learning anatomy from a book, models, or a crudely dissected cadaver. There are thousands of man hours involved in each display and each one focuses on a specific, such as tendons, and the body is more or less "filleted" to best show those points of attachment.

There is even one display that is nothing more than skin. With the exception of the missing eyebrows and naval (they leave those on the body), it looked exactly like the body itself was just mysteriously vaporized (by aliens or something), leaving nothing but it's outer layer.

[ilovegoogle34]

I wonder if they found the prototype he was looking for... :D