Child-labour probe halts production at Samsung supplier

Investigation under way at Chinese facility

A supplier of Samsung has been forced to halt production at a Chinese factory indefinitely amid a child-labour probe.

According to a Reuters report, Samsung said it had stopped doing business with the Congguan Shinyang Electronics factory after an audit found evidence of child labour.

The facility – which is owned by a South Korean firm – is based in the Guandong province of southern China, which is well known for its masses of factories.

An anonymous senior official at the parent firm told Reuters production had been stopped early last week, and workers told the news agency that although they were not producing parts, they were still required to go to work to complete other tasks such as cleaning.

The local government is understood to be investigating the factory, the article claims, citing a statement on its website which said that although it had not yet found any initial evidence of child labour, the issue was of "great concern".