A cymbidium orchid, similar to the type stolen by an orchid thief on April 16th, 2008. The theft resulted in a ten year jail sentence and a 5,000 yuan fine. [File Photo: Xi'an Evening News]

A thief who stole two precious orchids, worth some 200 thousand yuan, has received a ten-year jail sentence and a 5,000 yuan fine by a local court in city Hanzhong, northwest China's Shaaxi Province.

This is the first case of plant theft that resulted in a sentence of ten years behind bars.

Xi'an Evening News reports that it was on a night in April this year that the thief, surnamed Zhang, stole the two precious orchids from a third-floor balcony of a villager's house at Shuimo township, Gucheng county in Hanzhong.

He was caught by the police and the plant owner the early next morning near a mountain by the village and the two plants were retrieved on the spot.

To give the thief a proper trial, the police solicited experts a number of times for professional advice on the plants. After evaluation, experts identified the two orchids as worth 200 thousand yuan, or nearly 30 thousand US dollars.

The stolen orchids are in the cymbidium category, one of the most precious species under national protection. They are found in northwest China and are known to survive well in low temperatures.