Chinese engineer takes 12 story plunge
after losing 4G iPhone
Adds a new absurd weight to the monetary price ultimately paid to the person who stole the device, further driving the already overblown mythos of Apple’s zeitgeist defining handsets. I can already imagine the urban legend that will grow up around this “incident.”
News.com reports that a 25-year-old engineer employed by Apple iPhone OEM Hon Hai (aka Foxconn) is said to have killed himself after losing the fruit logo’d fourth generation prototype handset left in his care. He purportedly was being held, possessions confiscated, by Hon Hai.
See the update to this story: Foxconn pays engineer’s family, many questions remain
“We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death,” said Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet in response to questions about the man’s death. “We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect.”
This, of course, shouldn’t construed as an admission that the engineer killed himself for the rumored reason.
According to Chinese media, 25-year-old Sun Danyong, who is said to have taken a 12-story plunge from his apartment, was responsible for shipping iPhone prototypes to Apple. Danyong reported the missing device to Foxconn after realizing that one of the 16 iPhones he received was no longer in his possession.
I’m really wondering how much of this real and how much is just so much fevered speculation…
What’s your take?
Filed under: Apple Evangelizing, iPhone, iPod
[...] Following Sun’s suicide, a Foxconn security employee was fired and is being investigated by police, though local authorities haven’t said one way or another what they’re up to. See also: Chinese engineer takes 12 story plungeafter losing 4G iPhone [...]