Taiwanese firm holds emergency meeting on suicides at China plant

May 22, 2010, 16:48 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan's Hon Hai Group held an emergency meeting Saturday in response to the latest of a string of suicides at its plant in China.

No comments were available, Ting Ching-yi, a Hon Hai press officer, said by phone.

So far, Hon Hai has not openly commented on the 12 suicides at its plant in Shenzhen, south China. All have happened since July 2009.

All involved jumping from buildings at the Shenzhen plant of Hon Hai's subsidiary, the Foxconn Technology Co Ltd. Ten died, while two were badly injured.

The latest suicide occurred on Friday, when a 23-year-old worker jumped from the fourth floor of the plant's dormitory, killing himself on the spot.

An investigation showed the man was in debt, had lost his cell phone, and that his girlfriend had decided to marry someone else. The cause of some of the other suicides was still being probed.

The high incidence of suicide at the Foxconn plant, which employers 400 workers, has tarnished the image of Hon Hai, the world's largest contract manufacturer of electronics products.

Some darkly humorous Chinese call Foxcoon the 'Jump Building Company,' or pronounce the company's Chinese name - Fu Shi Kang - as Fu Si (Go Die) Kang.

Foxconn officials deny abuse of workers, even though some Foxconn workers complained on the internet of long work hours, low pay and harsh treatment by Taiwanese supervisors.

Last week, Foxconn released a report on China's suicide rate, noting that the suicide rate at Foxconn's Shenzhen plant is far lower than the Chinese average.

According to Taiwan's NEXT Magazine, Hon Hai plans to increase the number of counsellors to the Foxconn plant in Shenzhen, while preparing to hold a Buddhist prayer meeting to appease the souls of the dead.

Hon Hai Chairman Terry Kuo plans to invite 30 Chinese monks to hold the prayer meeting at the Foxconn plant in Shenzhen at the end of May, the weekly magazine reported.