Foxconn used under-age labour to build iPhone 5

Apple's iPhone 5 supplier Foxconn is once again embroiled in a scandal over its employee practices, and has admitted it hires interns as young as 14 to assemble devices.

A report by China Labour Watch noted that schools sent interns to Foxconn, according to a CNET report, but the Taiwanese manufacturer did not check their identities or ages.

The legal working age in China is 16 and Foxconn has confirmed that children as young as 14 have been working at its Yantai facility.

Foxconn said the practice of hiring under-age labour is a violation of not only Chinese labour laws, but also the company's police. It said it has taken steps to prevent another occurrence.

Any employee found responsible for the violations will be fired, Foxconn said.

The Taiwanese electronics giant employs 1.2 million people in China and has come under fire for working conditions at its factories.

Recent protests at Foxconn's Chinese factories has seen rioting and even suicides amongst workers.