China jails 10 Indonesians

China jails 10 Indonesians

A Chinese court has sentenced 10 Indonesian pirates to between 10 and 15 years in jail for hijacking a Thai oil tanker and sailing it into Chinese waters, state newspapers said on Tuesday.

The court in China's southern city of Shantou also fined the men up to 30,000 yuan (US$3,600) on Monday for sailing the vessel, hijacked in Malaysian waters in June 1999, into Chinese territory the same month, the China Daily reported.

The court was told the pirates had repainted and renamed the tanker before heading for the Philippines, Taiwan and then southern China, the Beijing Morning News said.

The papers did not give the size of the vessel, but said it had been returned to its Thai owners along with its cargo of 1,900 tons of diesel fuel worth around 8.3 million yuan ($1 million).

The newspapers did not identify the owners. -- Reuters