4 Taiwanese Foxconn employees under probe in China: Beijing

Beijing, Oct. 12 (CNA) Four Taiwanese employees of Foxconn's factory in Zhengzhou, a major Apple supplier, are under investigation in China on suspicion of accepting bribes and embezzling funds, China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) confirmed on Friday after media reports.

The relevant authorities are handling the case in accordance with the law while ensuring the protection of the suspects' legal rights, said TAO spokesperson Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮).

Zhu's remarks came in response to media reports that the individuals working at Foxconn's Zhengzhou factory in Henan province, China have been detained by Chinese security officials since January this year.

According to the reports, the Taiwanese employees were accused of accepting bribes in their capacity as non-state officials, with two of them also facing allegations of embezzlement.

However, Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the country's top agency handling cross-strait affairs, said earlier this week that the case was "quite strange."

While the Zhengzhou police arrested and detained the four employees on charges equivalent to Taiwan's "breach of trust" offense, Taiwan-based Foxconn has asserted that the company has suffered no losses and that the employees have not harmed the company's interests in any way, the MAC said on Oct. 9.

MAC said it does not rule out the possibility that the case is connected to corruption and abuse of power by a small number of Chinese security officials.

The case has seriously damaged the confidence of companies, the MAC said, urging relevant Chinese authorities to investigate and deal with it as soon as possible.