Factory not a sweatshop, says group's president

GUANGZHOU - Terry Gou, president of Foxconn Technology Group, has denied claims that his company is a sweatshop in his first public comments after a string of suicides at his factory.

Nineteen-year-old Li Hai on Tuesday became the ninth employee to kill himself at Foxconn's large Shenzhen compound in the last five months. In all, 11 people have jumped from buildings on the site. Two survived but were severely injured.

Another suicide occurred at a smaller Foxconn plant in northern Hebei province in January.