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Ten Indonesian pirates were Monday sentenced to between 10 and 15 years in jail in Shantou, a coastal city in the northeastern part of Guangdong Province. They were also fined from 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) to 30,000 yuan (US$3,614.46) each, Huang Xiaotian, an official from Shantou Intermediate People's Court told China Daily in a telephone interview Monday. According to Huang, those facing prison sentences of 10 years were fined 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) each, while those who are to serve 13 and 15 year terms were fined 20,000 yuan (US$2,400) and 30,000 yuan (US$3,600) respectively. After completing their jail terms, the 10 Indonesian criminals will be deported back to their country, Huang said. According to reports, the Indonesian pirates had taken two high speed hovercraft in preparation to hijack a Thai oil vessel, called Simxanxai, in Malaysian waters on June 8, 1999, locking up all the 17 Thai sailors aboard the vessel. The pirates then re-painted the hijacked vessel and renamed it Omy 2. The pirates also falsified documents, changing the ship's registered port from Bangkok to Singapore. They then sailed the vessel into Guangdong waters via the Philippines and China's Taiwan Island on June 10. The pirates and the oil vessel were detained by Chinese police while they were delivering diesel fuel to another Chinese vessel, Zhengyang No 1, in Nan'ao Island of Guangdong Province. In the coming months, the court will hold a second public hearing to try the domestic suspects from Zhengyang No 1 who purchased the stolen diesel fuel. Guangdong police have returned the vessel and the 1,900 tons of diesel fuel -- worth 8.34 million yuan (US$1 million) -- to their owner, a Thailand shipping company. The pirates have been detained in Shantou. The court said the defendants had violated both Chinese and international laws. It is the first foreign-related marine robbery case that Shantou Intermediate People's Court has handled this year. The punishment of the Indonesian pirates has demonstrated the determination of the Chinese Government to fight marine robberies and protect China's waters from international piracy.