HANOI, August 21 (RIA Novosti) - A court has sentenced eight people who killed a tiger in a zoo in Can Tho province, in southern Vietnam, to up to 11.5 years in prison, local media said Tuesday.

The poachers, who also face a fine of about $28,000, broke into the zoo last June and poisoned the tiger with cyanide. They then hurried to cut and disembowel the 150-kilogram (300-pound) animal right in the zoo so that the poison did not taint the tiger's meet and bones.

The man who bought the carcass for nearly $15,000 received a suspended sentence of nine months.

Tiger bones, cooked into glue, are used as a traditional Asian medicine with a black market value of about $5,000 per kilogram. It is used as treatment against infections and as a painkiller.

In Asian countries, tiger bones are also believed to steady nerves, increase intelligence, cure forgetfulness and dislodge bones stuck in the throat. A tiger skull is said to prevent nightmares and keep evil away.