HTC design executives arrested over secrets theft

PanARMENIAN.Net - Three HTC design executives were arrested last week on accusations of embezzlement and selling of commercial secrets.

The firm’s VP of product design Thomas Chien, research and development director Wu Chien-Hung and senior manager of design and innovation Justin Huang were detained by Taipei police on Friday, Aug 30.

HTC has accused the executives of stealing trade secrets and breaching trust, both of which carry a maximum jail term of ten years in the region, ZDNet says. The Taiwanese smartphone maker now has to deal with members of its design team who allegedly planned to sell trade secrets to Chinese rivals.

The executives were also accused of making false commission fee claims totaling around T$10 million ($334,200), according to the China Times.

Chien and Chien-Hung remain in custody, while Huang was released on bail.

The mobile maker has been in trouble as it tries to resist severe competition in the smartphone market, in particular from Apple and Samsung. According to research firm IDC, HTC held a 4.6 percent share of the global smartphone market in 2012, a sharp decline from 8.8 percent a year earlier. Samsung held a 30.3 percent stake while Apple had 19.1 percent. Despite getting rave reviews for its high-end smartphones, the company warns of losses as its revenue continues to fall.

"The company expects employees to observe and practice the highest levels of integrity and ethics. Protecting the company's proprietary and intellectual properties, privacy and security is a core fundamental responsibility of every employee. The company does not condone any violation. The matter is under investigation by relevant authorities. We therefore refrain from further comments," HTC said in a statement.