The five did not know they had HIV/AIDS until after they were arrested for offences committed as part of a 26-member crime gang in November, the Beijing Youth Daily said.

Following routine health screening, 13 of the 26 tested positive for HIV, the report said.

The case underlines a serious problem in China's fight against HIV/AIDS -- that 90 percent of patients do not know they have the disease, meaning they continue to unknowingly infect others.

The case also highlights the lack of awareness about the disease in China, even as infections are increasing by a rapid rate of 30 percent a year and the United Nations warns 10 million people in China could have AIDS by 2010.

The defendants, aged between 20 to 30, stole 14 cellphones and six wallets worth a total of 14,234 yuan (1,736 US dollars) in streets and markets in eastern Hangzhou city last year to support their drug habit.

They were sentenced Tuesday in Hangzhou.

One of the defendants was shown wearing a mask in court by newspapers Wednesday, indicating ignorance about how the disease is spread exists even among Chinese law enforcement and judicial officials.

A police officer standing near the defendant was also wearing a mask in the closed-door hearing, the Youth Daily said.

The disease is spread through sexual contact, blood transfusions and the sharing of needles, as well as by pregnant women to their babies. Donning a mask is useless in preventing transmission.

The defendants will be sent to a special jail in Hangzhou where they could receive medical care, the Xinhua news agency said.

Only 10 percent of China's estimated official number of 840,000 HIV/AIDS patients know they are infected, Ray Yip, director for the US Center for Disease Control in China said Tuesday.

Chinese officials confirmed his statements.

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