July 22 (Bloomberg) -- Hon Hai Group, the world’s largest contract-manufacturer of electronics, suspended a security official at one of its subsidiaries after the death of an employee who lost a prototype of an Apple Inc. iPhone.

The case of the security official, identified only by the surname “Gu,” has been turned over to Chinese authorities, Hon Hai said in a statement, without providing details. Sun Tanyong, an employee at Hon Hai unit Foxconn International Holdings Ltd., jumped off a dormitory at a factory in Shenzhen after one of the 16 iPhone prototypes he was assigned to mail on July 10 went missing, said a Hon Hai official, who asked not to be identified.

Hon Hai is unaware of the reasons behind Sun’s suicide, according to the Taipei, Taiwan-based company’s statement. Sun, 25, killed himself on July 16 after being investigated by company officials for the disappearance of an iPhone sample, the China Daily reported today.

Apple, which hires Asian contract manufacturers such as Hon Hai to make products designed by the Cupertino, California-based company, said it’s awaiting the results of the probe into the employee’s death.

“We are saddened by the tragic loss of this employee, said Steve Dowling, a spokesman for Cupertino, California-based Apple. “We require that our suppliers treat all workers with dignity and respect.”

Foxconn didn’t authorize any person or department to violate the law, according to the statement. Hon Hai said it offered condolences to Sun’s family.

Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the group’s flagship unit and Taiwan’s biggest manufacturer by sales, owns 72 percent of Foxconn International Holdings, the world’s biggest contract- maker of mobile phones.

To contact the reporter on this story: Chinmei Sung in Taipei at csung4@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: July 22, 2009 06:46 EDT