A police department in northeast China has come under fire for spending an “unnecessary” amount of cash to purchase imported Harley-Davidson motorcycles, mainland Chinese media have reported.

Police from Changchun city — the capital of Jilin province — were found to have spent millions of yuan to purchase a fleet of 10 Harley-Davidson motorcycles for 367,600 yuan (US$54,288) each, online news outlet The Paper reported on Tuesday.

The revelation has drawn heavy criticism from citizens, who blasted the Changchun city police for purchasing the flashy motorcycles for police duties.

The motorcycles were purchased in 2018 and have been in use for two years, a Changchun city police spokesperson said on Tuesday in response to the overwhelming criticism. The purchase was made following the official protocols, the spokesperson added, but did not explain why that particular model was required for police duties.

Many citizens did not accept the explanation, with some netizens saying the criticism was not about whether the purchase was made legitimately, but if “such a purchase was necessary.”

A local Harley-Davidson dealer in Sichuan province pointed out that the Harley-Davidson bikes acquired by Changchun police were in fact the second-most expensive model from the famed U.S. motorcycle manufacturer.

Purchase records from the Jilin provincial government website showed that the 10 motorcycles were acquired on Aug. 16, 2018, The Paper reported. Besides the Harley-Davidson motorcycles, the provincial government also bought 160 Italian Piaggio MP3 500 scooters at 145,000 yuan each.

Hangzhou city police in Zhejiang province was also found to have bought imported motorcycles in October 2018. High quality motorcycles that were stable, fast and with an engine capacity of more than 1,200cc were required by special guards for any national guests, and no locally produced motorcycles could meet those needs, the police department explained. The Harley-Davidsons in question were among the three models of imported motorcycles that met the tender’s requirements, mainland media reported.

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