A mahjong machine is put on expressway as warning sign.(Photo/Chongqing Evening News)

On Sept. 29, Chongqing traffic police found a mahjong machine on the Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway. There was a car parked in front of the machine and two people were standing nearby. Other cars were driving around the machine.

"The mahjong machine occupied not only the emergency lane, but also a traffic lane," said a police officer. As they drove nearer, they saw that the two people were replacing a tire next to the machine.

The driver, Zeng Jun, told police that he and a friend were going to Hubei province. As he was driving on the Shanghai-Chengdu Expressway in Yunyang County, one of his car's tires suddenly burst, so he had to park the car in the emergency lane to replace it. Because they didn't have a proper, light-up warning sign, they were forced to look for something else to put on the road as a warning. It turned out that the only thing big enough to draw other drivers' attention was a mahjong machine. They therefore put the mahjong machine on the road and topped it with a lit flashlight to warn other drivers.

The police officers moved the mahjong machine off the road and guarded Zeng's car themselves until he was able to finish replacing his tire. As their behavior had technically broken the law, Zeng was fined 200 RMB for not carrying a traffic warning sign with him.