BANGKOK , Thailand ( CNN ) -- A Thai judge fined dozens of Rohingya refugees from Myanmar who pleaded guilty Wednesday to charges of illegal entry after escaping from their own country a month ago -- amid allegations that other Rohingya have been dumped at sea by the Thai army . Male refugees show scars they say were caused by beatings at the hands of the Myanmar navy . The Ranong Provincial Court judge ordered each of the 66 ethnic Muslim refugees to pay 1,000 Thai baht ( less than $ 30 ) . He imposed the fines via a closed-circuit television link to Ranong Provincial Prison , where the refugees will continue to be held until they can pay the court . Twelve additional refugees , all teenagers , were being detained at a police station and are exempt from prosecution . The 78 refugees will be handed over on January 31 to immigration police , who will deport them . It is unclear where they will be sent . The refugees arrived by boat on the Thai shore , and Thai police said many had severe burns from a fire that broke out on board their craft after it left neighboring Myanmar , also known as Burma . Members of Myanmar 's Rohingya minority have been fleeing the country for years , saying they are persecuted by its military government . One refugee , who called himself Mohamed , told CNN that their boat had been at sea for a month , and that Myanmar 's military had detained and attacked them before setting their boat on fire . The refugees are unwelcome in Thailand , where authorities say about 20,000 have settled illegally . Other boatloads of Rohingya have allegedly been set adrift after being towed out to sea by Thai authorities . A recent CNN investigation found evidence of such activity . Photos obtained by CNN include one that shows the Thai army towing a boatload of some 190 refugees . Watch Dan Rivers ' BackStory on the investigation » . CNN also interviewed a refugee who said he was one of the few who had survived after a group of six rickety boats was towed back to sea and abandoned by Thai authorities earlier this month . The Thai government has launched an inquiry . The Thai army has denied the allegations . But after extensive questioning by CNN , one source in the Thai military confirmed that the Thai army was operating a dump-at-sea policy . The source defended it , saying that each boatload of refugees is given sufficient supplies of food and water . That source said Thai villagers had become afraid of the hundreds of Rohingya arriving each month , and they had accused the refugees of stealing their property and threatening them . The Thai government has said that `` there is no reasonable ground to believe '' that the Rohingya are fleeing Myanmar because of persecution . `` Their profile and their seasonal travel further support the picture that they are illegal migrants , and not those requiring international protection , '' the Foreign Ministry said in a statement issued Tuesday . One of the refugees who came ashore Tuesday said they will be killed if returned to Myanmar because of their minority status . He said the Rohingya are stateless because they lack bribe money to obtain identification cards in Myanmar . In Tuesday 's statement , the Thai government said it deals with all illegal migrants in accordance with its laws and international guidelines . It said `` basic humanitarian needs '' such as food and water are met among the migrants before they are returned home . Their boats also are fixed , officials said . The Thai government said that `` accepting those arriving in an irregular manner would simply encourage new arrivals . '' The government denied media reports alleging that Thai authorities mistreat the illegal migrants and intentionally damage their boats . CNN 's Dan Rivers and Kocha Olarn contributed to this report .
Sixty - six Rohingya refugees from Myanmar fined by Thai government . They will be handed over to Thai police with 12 others . Rohingya refugees are at center of allegations of rape by Thai army . Video obtained by police show army towing boatload of 190 refugees to sea .