The New York Times reports that 25-year-old Sun Danyong, an employee in the logistics department of Foxconn Technology, jumped from his 12th floor apartment after allegedly being interrogated and beaten by the company's security team. FoxConn received 16 prototypes in early July, one of which went missing.
The finger of blame appears to be pointed at Foxconn's treatment of the worker, but questions are also being raised over the extreme pressures on suppliers to maintain the secrecy of Apple's planned launches (the upcoming Apple tablet being the latest example). Worker rights groups, meanwhile, implore Apple to stamp out abuse in the Chinese factories that build its devices.
While Foxconn denies allegations of beating Sun Danyong, his family received $44,000 in compensation; his girlfriend, who received an anguished text message on the night of his death, received a free Apple laptop.