Foxconn employee charged with stealing shells for Apple's iPhone 6
There were a few surprises revealed at last week’s Apple event. The iPhone 6 wasn’t one of them.
For months, we were inundated with leaked images purportedly showing Apple’s next handset. Those images turned out to be correct. Unfortunately, one of the leakers is now in a world of hurt, according to The Wall Street Journal.
On Sept. 4, local authorities in China arrested a Foxconn employee for stealing six shells of the new phone from a factory in northern Shanxi province. Those shells were sold for 1,000 yuan each ($160) to an electronic gadget market in the city of Shenzhen, a hub for gadget makers.
The 40-year-old male suspect began stealing shells in July after seeing an advertisement near his factory that said “purchasing parts from Apple Inc. at high prices.”
Foxconn confirmed the incident in a statement to CNET, noting that it expects all employees to follow the company’s Code of Conduct:
As a matter of company policy, Foxconn does not comment on any aspect of our work for any customer,” a Foxconn Technology Group spokesperson told CNET in an e-mailed statement. “However, we can say that we have a strict Company Code of Conduct that our company and our employees are expected to follow and we do not hesitate to take the appropriate action, including bringing matters to the attention of the relevant law enforcement authorities, should we determine that this Code has been violated.
Apple has not commented on the alleged leaks.
Last week, Apple unveiled the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus. They also revealed a new mobile payment system, Apple Pay, and the Apple Watch.
The new handsets arrive in stores this Friday, Sept. 19.
See also: NFC technology in iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus enabled for use only with Apple Pay, The iPhone 6 Plus seems to be in short supply, even for Apple Store employees, and Apple iPhone 6 sales top a record 4 million in first 24 hours.