Two Mainlanders have been jailed for up to five years for stealing Buddhist Pine trees. The punishment meted out by the District Court today, is the heaviest seen for this type of case.

A 38-year-old man was given five years jail while his 22-year-old male accomplice was given three years and seven months.

The court heard that on February 28, Marine Police intercepted a sampan off Po Toi Island West and found 36 Buddhist pine tree trunks believed to have been uprooted from the island. The two men onboard were arrested.

The elder man, the coxswain, was convicted of handling stolen goods, assisting passage within Hong Kong of a conveyance which carried unauthorised entrants and remaining in Hong Kong illegally. The younger one was convicted of handling stolen goods and remaining in Hong Kong illegally.