Three jailed over iPad 2 leaks in China

Three people charged with the leaking of trade secrets, including information about Apple's iPad 2, were reportedly sentenced to jail time by a Chinese court this week.

An iPad 2 mock-up at CES 2011, three months ahead of Apple's official unveiling.

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that Xiao Chengsong, Lin Kecheng, and Hou Pengna were found guilty by The Shenzhen Bao'an People's Court yesterday and sentenced to 18 months, 14 months, and 12 months in jail respectively. Out of the three, Kecheng is the only one to have been an employee with Foxconn at the time, according to the Journal.

Foxconn, which is part of Hon Hai Precision Industries, is the company that manufactures gadgets for Apple along with a number of other major electronics makers. The company has been closely watched since a string of worker suicides last year. More recently, the company last month suffered an explosion at one of its factories near Chengdu, China, that killed three workers and injured another 15.

A report from late April suggested that all three individuals charged for conspiring in a plot to acquire detailed information about Apple's iPad 2 ahead of its release worked for Foxconn. According to the Journal, however, that was not the case. Instead, the effort apparently centered around Chengsong, a general manager for a local accessories shop allegedly tapping Penga for information, who then proceeded to allegedly pay Kecheng to get photos of the iPad 2 hardware.

Along with the jail time, the three have reportedly been fined at varying levels. Chengsong's sentence was the highest at a little more than $23,140, according to the Journal.

source: http://news.cnet.com/8301-27076_3-20071419-248/three-jailed-over-ipad-2-leaks-in-china/?tag=mncol