Foxconn employee died from falling: police

An autopsy confirmed Friday a Foxconn Technology Group employee's death was due to falling, after some questioned the initial reason given for the death, Shenzhen police in south China's Guangdong Province said.

A notice from the Baoan District Branch of the Public Security Bureau of Shenzhen City said experts conducted an autopsy on Ma Xiangqian at about 10 a.m. Friday and determined that he died from "falling from height".

Ma Hui, Ma's sister, said she was "surprised" about the autopsy result and that the family would consider what to do next.

Ma Xiangqian, 19, was found lying dead near the stairway of company dormitory in Guanlan town, Shenzhen, at 4:30am on Jan. 23.

An initial investigation by police showed that Ma suffered a sudden death, but a second body investigation said the young man died of unknown causes.

Ma Hui believes her brother died after being beaten, as she found big wounds on his head and bloodstains around his mouth and nose.

Foxconn, a unit of Taiwan electronics giant Hon Hai, is offering a 500,000-yuan (73,219 U.S. dollars) reward for information about the young man's death.

Chen Hongfang, director of Foxconn's labor union office, had refuted local media's reports that Ma had been assigned to cleaning toilets after he damaged equipment.

Ma had not shown up for work since Jan. 20, Chen said.

Li Jinming, Foxconn administrative general manager, said a company investigation found no evidence of unfair treatment of Ma.

Ma, from central China's Henan Province, started working at Foxconn in November 2009.

Foxconn, set up in 1988, has more than 700,000 employees worldwide and is the foremost provider of joint-design, joint-development, manufacturing, assembly and after-sales services to global computer, communication and consumer-electronics companies.

Source: Xinhua