Zhang was charged with stealing police items, and more charges may follow if an investigation proves he used his 'police' identity for profit, Zhengzhou No1 Traffic Police Department spokesman Meng Fangyong said.

'He was arrested by police on a charge of theft and, I believe, another charge of impersonating a law enforcement officer,' Mr Meng said.

Zhang, 28, a former security guard, had dreamed of becoming a police officer since he was a boy, but was frustrated by a lack of education.

So he started posing as one in 2005 after he picked up the uniform, badges and walkie-talkie he found at a roadside.

He 'worked' only part-time but insists he only helped solve people's problems. People he met tell a different story.

The story unfolded on Wednesday after a Zhengzhou newspaper published his picture and news of his arrest.

Many residents and small business owners visited the police bureau, volunteering accounts of Zhang's actions, according to the Zhengzhou Evening News.

Several street vendors told police that the uniformed Zhang ordered them to pay 150 yuan (HK$171.40) whenever they saw him on the street, and some vendors had to buy Zhang a 50-yuan mobile phone recharge card each month as a protection fee.

Restaurant owners said he rarely paid for food and taxi drivers said he had taken their cabs without paying.

But Zhang's case is apparently not unique. In Henan there are many online reports of fake police blackmailing prostitutes and fining motorists for traffic violations.

Why a police officer? One online contributors at Mop.com, wrote: 'Because cops have power, unlimited power, and what makes me feel sad is that people in society have given up and let the ugly [police] force dominate their lives.'