A police officer from Zhenba county, Shaanxi province in Northwest China, has been dismissed from his post after being found using a police car to drive he and wife around tourist spots in Yunnan province, during his vacation, cnwest.com reported on Sunday.

Tan Daibin, chief officer of the county's Yanchang police station, was photographed driving the car by a netzen, who noticed the car because of its Shaanxi license plate, and posted the shots online, questioning why the police car was there.

The post was noticed by county government officials, who then investigated.

Using a police car not on police duty is against regulations. Tan was dismissed on Aug 16 and was also required to pay for the costs of the car during his trip.