A Chinese court has sentenced three individuals connected with stealing information related to Apple’s iPad 2, months before it was due to be released, reports the Wall Street Journal.
Xiao Chengsong, general manager of Shenzhen MacTop Electronics Co, was found guilty of paying a Foxconn employee to steal information on the new iPad 2, so that he was able to begin manufacturing protective cases for the device.
The head of the electronics firm paid Foxconn worker Ms. Hou Pengna around $3,000, plus discounts on MacTop products, for information on the Apple tablet. Ms. Hou then paid Lin Kecheng, a R&D employee at Foxconn, to download images of the device’s back cover, six months before the device was officially announced.
Mr Xiao was sentenced to was jailed for 18 months, and fined 150,000 yuan. Mr. Lin was sentenced to 14 months and fined 100,000 yuan, and Ms. Hou was given year in prison and fined 30,000 yuan.
The iPad 2 cases in question found their way to Alibaba.com, a wholesale trading website, before they were removed after the company received a “legitimate” request (presumably from Apple) for the listings to be taken down.
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