Three months ago it was reported that three former workers at Foxxcon were arrested and charged with leaking information about the iPad 2 way before the tablet had been unveiled to the public – the workers have now been given prison sentences and hefty fines for stealing information from the manufacturer.
Lin Kecheng, Hou Pengna and Xiao Chengsong were given sentences ranging from 12 to 18 months, as well as hefty fines, for their roles in stealing the information.
Mr Xiao, who the owner of the accessories maker MacTop, is thought to have paid Ms Hou to get details on Apple's iPad 2 which hadn't been released at the time. Hou, who had previously worked at Foxconn, paid fellow employee Mr Lin to take pictures of the the back the iPad 2 - so Mr Xiao could steal a march on all of his competitors as he could develop accessories well before the tablet had been unveiled to the public.
Xiao was given 18 months in prison and a £14,300 fine, Hou 12 months and a £2,900 fine and Lin 14 months and a £9,500 fine.
The Shenzhen Baoan People’s Court announced the sentencing on Tuesday, posting the information on its Chinese microblog. The court said that the research and development connected with the stolen trade secret is estimated to be worth 2.06 million yuan.
In a statement, Foxxcon declined to comment on the reported conviction of its former workers but the Taiwanese firm, which operates its sprawling facility in mainland China, maintained that “Foxconn takes its commitment to protecting its intellectual property as well as that of its customers very seriously and undertakes all appropriate actions to safeguard against any violations.”
As of time of writing Apple has yet to comment, but it’s doesn’t look good for the Cupertino company who have regularly been dogged by embarrassing incidents at the plant and this latest incident isn’t going to go down well with the mainstream press.