If you think back to just before the iPad 2 was officially announced, you’ll probably also remember the unusual way in which the new hardware was being leaked left and right; specifically, leaks that came out of Chinese supply sites.
Recently, the Chinese police became involved and as a result, three people have been arrested in relation to the leaking of iPad 2 information after a three month investigation, according to The Wall Street Journal….
“The court announced the decision Tuesday in statements on its official account at Sina Weibo, a Twitter-like microblogging service in China. It said that Xiao Chengsong, general manager of Shenzhen MacTop Electronics Co., had offered 20,000 yuan, or about $3,000, plus discounts on MacTop products to a former Hon Hai employee named Hou Pengna, for information about the iPad 2. The court said Ms. Hou then paid Lin Kecheng, a Hon Hai research-and-development employee, to get digital images of the device’s back cover from last September, six months before the iPad 2 was publicly announced.”
The three culprits now find themselves in prison for between 12-18 months, with fines ranging from $4,500 and $23,000.
Cases made for the yet unreleased iPad 2 began appearing on various websites a whole four months before the hardware’s big reveal, with leaks believed to be coming from Foxconn employees.
Foxconn is currently one of the largest suppliers of parts for Apple hardware on the planet, and a likely source for any leaks coming out of China.