Sun Danyong, 25 year old Foxconn employee, commits suicide after misplacing an iPhone prototype
By Stefan Constantinescu on Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 at 1:13 AM PST In iPhone
With Apple (NSDQ: AAPL)’s Q3 results coming out today at 17:00 New York time, the company is under extreme pressure to deliver some fantastic numbers in what is best described as a horrific economic situation. You think that’s pressure? What about 25 year old Sun Danyong? An employee of Foxconn in the Shenzhen part of China, he was responsible for 16 iPhone prototypes that he received on July 9th according to Venture Beat. When one went missing, his apartment was illegally searched. There is even an accusation that he was detained and physically abused. The kind of pressure he was experiencing, coming from his employer, and possibly Apple, lead him to commit suicide by jumping out his window at 03:33 in the morning last Thursday (July 16th). I’m frankly disgusted. No piece of technology is worth the price of a human life. Not even an iPhone.
Update: The picture above is not related to the story at all. I found it via Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Image Search. Here is the source.
Update: Apple has commented on this story:
“We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death,” Apple spokeswoman Kristin Huguet told CNET on Tuesday. “We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect.”
[...] [via IntoMobile] [...]
OMG !
This brings tears to my eyes .. If this is true .. Will never buy an iphone again !
As you say , mobile phones are meant to make our lives better , not end them
maybe he was thrown out the window? hmmmm.
Looks fake. There isn’t even blood on the body.
the picture above is not related to the story. i got it from doing a google image search. here is the source: http://davidbarrie.typepad.com/david_barrie/2007/08/human-parachute.html
apologies for the confusion.
i hear most of this kind of work pressure felt in asia. regardless of location though, it’s not worth it.
I know Asians have a stressful work ethic but this is just too much.
Although the image is not related to this particular story; is it really necessary to have a visual depiction? It’s hard for me to believe that you have any sympathy for this guy. I’ll agree that Apple and China tend to be viewed as evil, but there’s no proof yet that this is the effect of their behavior.
This make us feel upset , This brings tears to my eyes .. If this is true .. Will never buy an iphone again !
As you say , mobile phones are meant to make our lives better , not end them.
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I have ever worked in Foxconn company , the condition is true , in fact, there is not human rights in the Foxconn company . and all things Apple company know it , but Apple company always turn a blind eye because of the low cost ! In this industry , it is an open secret ! but , anyway , it’s not worth it .
First pls forgive my poor english.Now I worked for Foxconn,I am so sorry the incident.But we believe it is ture.Chinese have a adage that is “You can kill me but you can’t insult me”.Sun was graduated HIT(a very famous university in China)@2008,and he come form a poor peasantry family,in university he was sedulous and finished his university dream,25 years he insist his belief ,we can’t beleive a phone will change his belief.Gu Qinming,most FXN guys were think he is a henchman of Taiwan director.We didn’t welcome iphone and all apple’s products entern in to China market,the products will remind me the blood of my country brother.Mobile phones are meant to make our lives better , not end them……
R.I.P. Sun Danyong
there’s probably much more to this story than we realize. the apple prototype might have been the last straw that broke the camel’s back. there are endless possibilities for why this guy committed suicide or was murdered.
i’d like to point out one thing though—if you don’t buy an iphone because of this story, you probably aren’t really in touch with reality. there are sweatshops around the world, with no labor laws, that make alot of the shoes, cloths, and products that you buy. The simplest example would be buying a diamond—think about that industry. If you’re strongly opinionated, I recommend being consistent and get more facts before you judge.
after reading the article on venturebeat, it still remains unclear about how this young man died. they only have video that shows him “jumping out of a window in his apartment building to his death.” those are the only facts at this point—everything else is speculation about his death.
This photo is wrong. The Chinese word on the motorbike is Panyu, a small city name. Panyu does not belong to Shenzhen, it belongs to Guangzhou. So this photo must be wrong.