Out of trams, subways and taxis, passengers found an ambulance was also offering transportation service at the arrival gate of Shanghai Pudong International Airport on the evening of December 7.

The video showing a group of people loading dozens of orange duty-free bags into an ambulance at the airport's arrival gate soon went viral. With ambulance lights flashing, the commuters, who seemed to have had a crazy shopping adventure overseas, were seen calmly loading their goods one by one.

"I can't believe this. An ambulance has been deployed as a ride-hailing car? Can anyone could possibly explain this to me?” The netizen who filmed the video questioned in his Weibo post - China's Twitter equivalent social media platform.

The private use of an ambulance sparked strong condemnations among Chinese netizens. Some demanded to know who is abusing power, while others questioned whether they will believe ambulance emergencies in the future.

"The abuse of ambulance is a big deal. If this is common, then no one would give the right of way to ambulances in an emergency,” Weibo user @Aizaiyuanfang commented.

User @Zhangxiaosiwen expressed the same concern, saying this diminishes the credibility of emergency vehicles, and he/she suggested severe punishment against the passengers and demanded apologies to the public.

Those who worked in the health care system like user @Xiangtuokengtuobuliaodefeichai also condemned the behavior.

As a former staff member in emergency clinic, he expressed gratitude to everyone who gives the right of way to ambulances: "So the abuse of an ambulance is a slap in the face on other's kindness.”

Officers from Shanghai Pudong International Airport quickly replied to the public's concerns late Saturday night, confirming the ambulance in the video is property of the airport. A staff member accused of breaking airport rules and using the ambulance for personal purposes is under investigation.

A commentary on the People's Daily published the next day urged further investigation. It indicated that the authority of Shanghai Pudong International Airport should clarify the reason why a single staff member was entitled to deploy an ambulance without any notification.

Meanwhile, a report from CCTV also warned the ambulance turning on the emergency lights has violated the Law of the People's Republic of China on Road Traffic Safety.