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Foxconn Employee Kills Self Over Missing iPhone

- By - Source : Tom's Guide US

A Foxconn employee committed suicide last week after losing one of sixteen iPhone prototypes that he was looking after.

The 25-year-old employee is said to have misplaced one of the devices; and after searching the factory, he reported it missing to his boss. Sun Danyong was then said to be subjected to unbearable interrogation techniques at the hands of Foxconn's Central Security Division.

Various publications say that Sun's apartment was searched, and that the young man was placed in solitary confinement and physically abused. 

The Shanghaiist reports (and translates) that Foxconn has already issued a statement apologizing for the the investigative techniques used while trying to locate the missing iPhone and says the staff member responsible has been suspended without pay pending an internal investigation.

However, despite the Foxconn statement, officials who work with the staff member in question say that it's unlikely Sun was beaten because the security office is just one big room. With roughly 60 people working there, even if Sun was taken behind a screen, they would have heard something if he was abused.

Sun threw himself off of his 12th floor balcony on July 16, three days after he reported the phone missing.

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neon neophyte 07/21/2009 11:20 PM
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you manipulated the title of this article to promote the Iphone. fuc*ing sick. NO ONE KILLED THEMSELVES OVER AN IPHONE.

he was clearly disturbed by the interrogation and the fierce consequences handed out from his employer.

FIX YOUR HEAD JANE.

stufmenatooba 07/21/2009 11:23 PM
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neon neophyte 07/21/2009 11:29 PM
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darkmantle 07/21/2009 11:44 PM
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"Suicide", right...

Hanin33 07/21/2009 11:45 PM
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this could have happened for a prototype of anything in the asian manufacturing wings it would seem... they're very hardcore about employee honesty and allegiance... that it was over a lost iCrap is the travesty of it all..

dingumf 07/21/2009 11:47 PM
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neon neophyte :
you manipulated the title of this article to promote the Iphone. fuc*ing sick. NO ONE KILLED THEMSELVES OVER AN IPHONE.he was clearly disturbed by the interrogation and the fierce consequences handed out from his employer.FIX YOUR HEAD JANE.




People don't negative this comment. He saying that they should change the title because it currently suggests the employee killed himself over a lost iPhone.

Its makes the employee seem stupid and that is not the case. F*cking interrogation techniques in china?

Think about it.

stufmenatooba 07/21/2009 11:55 PM
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dingumf :
People don't negative this comment. He saying that they should change the title because it currently suggests the employee killed himself over a lost iPhone. Its makes the employee seem stupid and that is not the case. F*cking interrogation techniques in china? Think about it.



He did kill himself over the missing iPhone. He lost it, the company interrogated him, and then he killed himself over the guilt of having lost it. This is something extremely important that you don't want to lose... and he lost it. Can't blame the guy for having a conscience and can't blame the company for not wanting to look like idiots to Apple.

v1ze 07/22/2009 12:05 PM
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cabose369 07/22/2009 12:56 PM
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I like Apple even less now that I have read this article...
They are REALLY strict with their prototypes....

MrSiko 07/22/2009 1:11 AM
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Boycott Foxconn now.

doomtomb 07/22/2009 1:15 AM
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This is messed up. We are talking about the company Foxconn that makes motherboards and crap? Why do they have a "Central Security Division" are they the FBI??? They take this guy into questioning, and search his apartment. I don't expect some low-level security force to be doing that, sounds like CIA activity. And their excuse for his accusations that he got beaten are "oh well, we couldn't have gotten away with it because people woulda heard us beating him...." That's the worst apology I've ever heard. They clearly did something to this guy to make him commit suicide. So what, you gagged him and then beat him? What is this world coming too... Foxconn, get your act together. Throw down your mini-FBI program and quit making your crappy Foxconn Bloodrage gimmick motherboards.

soldier37 07/22/2009 1:15 AM
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fulle 07/22/2009 1:36 AM
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Interesting that some people don't understand that a clever remark loses its humor when the article is more serious in nature. Like a suicide.

-1 to a few people who think its cute to make fun of someone who was driven to suicide by his employer. +1 to Neon for actually having the decency to find this appalling, and recognize that the title should be changed.

To Jane's credit though, she made the necessary adjustments to the title, and probably didn't mean any harm in how it was originally stated.

Anonymous 07/22/2009 3:26 AM
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What's a phone anyways!

nachowarrior 07/22/2009 3:37 AM
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MrSiko :
Boycott Foxconn now.



the problem is that it's hard to find almost any type of electronic device that foxconn hasn't had their grimy fingers in. Look at the I/O ports on your motherboard. at least one of them will have "foxconn" stamped firmly on it. They just make too much stuff. A boycott would have to start at the mfg level. eg. asus/gigabyte.

furthermore, i don't doubt he was beaten. it's not like the place doesn't have a closet or a bathroom that 'security' could have taken him to.
note: to date there are no full on foxconn products i've purchased nor apple. Nor do i expect to ever do so.

Anonymous 07/22/2009 4:15 AM
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Guys..if u have been working in some oversea factory, you will know this is just normal daily life there. The security is tight as hell if they are manufacture for big name companies. It is just the big companies forced the environment to become such. Sometimes, you will see all the competitors product manufacturing in the same factory or they pay to own part of the assembly line. For those worker who are not belong to the section, if you peak inside, the securities will come to you and the alarm will sound.

josh jones 07/22/2009 4:16 AM
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maxcue 07/22/2009 4:34 AM
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Bernie Madoff and the other super-greedy thieves that stole tens of billions from hard-working regular people should have had the decency to kill themselves. This poor guy just over-reacted.

krazynutz 07/22/2009 4:39 AM
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Yeah, the headline is messed up and totally misleading. Bad, tasteless reporting. The article says his apartment was searched. I hate being the conspiracy theorist but I wouldn't doubt this wasn't even a suicide.

redkachina 07/22/2009 4:42 AM
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poor guy.what did he do to deserve that...

Core2uu 07/22/2009 4:50 AM
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All right people! Let's boycott Foxconn! First order of business: Turn off your comput-...

computabug 07/22/2009 5:00 AM
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Yes the title is fuc*ing misleading like sh!t, and I only read TH when I'm bored now because they're probably taking bribes.

It's not Jane's fault, she didn't title it. The editors titled it.

surrept420 07/22/2009 5:24 AM
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Toms hardware is starting to piss me off with these bullsh*t articles. I think they need to find some new writers/editors. Until then I will be switching to another site for info.....

cruiseoveride 07/22/2009 5:34 AM
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What does Foxconn do with iPhone prototypes? Do they make iPhones?

megamanx00 07/22/2009 5:45 AM
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Well that's just crazy.

computabug 07/22/2009 7:01 AM
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surrept420 :
Toms hardware is starting to piss me off with these bullsh*t articles. I think they need to find some new writers/editors. Until then I will be switching to another site for info.....


I've been reading alternatives not because of crap writing, but because of crap organization and management. The site infrastructure is crappy and the management doesn't give a damn about it. Editors give crap titles to articles. The only good stuff nowadays is when an editor decides to do his/her own review that's highly extensive and takes a helluvalota time and posts it up by themselves, completely their own work. Then there's tradition, like SBM and BGCFTM that have carried on since TH was created.

And yes, TH is leeching off info from other sites like OCC. OCC posts up news, an hour later Jane paraphrases it and posts it up. I'm a 15 year old, I can do that...

NuclearShadow 07/22/2009 7:39 AM
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Jane I normally like your articles but your titling of this one is simply way off and has made me lose respect for you.

I certainly hope this isn't a attempt to make FoxConn seem less like a bad guy. If you sold your soul just to not get on the bad side of a potential advertiser then shame on you.

zodiacfml 07/22/2009 8:15 AM
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i'm not sure if this was the original, Foxconn Employee Kills Self Over Missing iPhone yet i don't see wrong with it.
we know Foxconn is a huge parts manufacturer.

eskimo_1 07/22/2009 8:24 AM
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You know i actually was looking at Foxconn MBs' on my last computer build, ended up with a Gigabyte thankfully.
Im Boycotting Foxconn from now on, any business who does that to a person deserves nothing but bankruptcy.

skalagon 07/22/2009 1:10 PM
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Im never buying a Foxconn motherboard ever after hearing this.

asap1 07/22/2009 2:33 PM
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July 21, 2009, 12:29 PM — Macworld —
According to news reports out of China, an employee at manufacturing firm Foxconn who lost an early prototype of the next-generation iPhone has been found dead. The employee, 25-year-old Sun Danyong, reportedly committed suicide by jumping out of a window of his 12th floor apartment last Thursday.

Sun was in charge of product communications at Foxconn, which manufacturers the iPhone for Apple. He was responsible for shipping 16 iPhone prototypes to Apple's Cupertino, Calif. headquarters. One of those prototypes turned up missing, and Foxconn launched an investigation to find the missing unit. That investigation led to a search of Sun's apartment, reportedly just prior to his suicide.

Foxconn is a major manufacturing firm in China; it handles assembly and production for Apple on a number of the company's products, including the iPod and iPhone. Previously, the company had been the subject of an Apple investigation into employee mistreatment and unfair working conditions.