Apple has confirmed the suicide of a worker for Foxconn Corporation in China who was interrogated last week after the components of an iPhone prototype on which he was working went missing.

Sun Danyong (Yong Sun Dan), 25, was reported by multiple sources to have jumped from a window on the 12th floor of his apartment building in Shenzhen last Thursday at 3 a.m.  After several days of speculation in the Chinese press, Apple confirmed the suicide in a statement issued to reporters earlier today:

"We are saddened by the tragic loss of this young employee, and we are awaiting results of the investigations into his death.  We require our suppliers to treat all workers with dignity and respect."

Chinese media reported that Danyong, a recent engineering graduate, had been detained and beaten by a senior security official for Foxconn after some of the prototype components for the iPhone prototype went missing.  Danyong is said to have been working on the fourth generation iPhone prototype for Foxconn, manufacturer of iPod and iPhone components for Apple in China.

Three hours before his death, Sun Danyong was chatting online with friends and posting on an Internet forum, describing the investigation over the missing iPhone "one of the most humiliating experiences" of his life.  Danyong reported the components missing three days after he was supposed to turn all of them over to their receivers from Apple on July 10th.

James Lee, spokesman for Foxconn, a subdivision of Taiwan's Hon Hai Corporation, apologized to Danyong's family yesterday and expressed sorrow for the incident.  He told China Daily Danyong's suicide "for whatever reason, reflects a management defect on the part of Foxconn to some extent especially over the troubles faced by our young employees."  Li Gimming, general manager for Foxconn,  has also apologized for the incident and states the supervisor involved has been suspended pending an investigation by police.  

China Daily reports that Danyong was from a poor family in Yunnan province and had not fully paid back his loans to Harbin Institute of Technology, from which he graduated last year.  The suspended security officer could potentially face charges if police determine that his interrogation of Danyong was violent.