Police offers 'arrest service' to criminals in Chinese province

A notice on the official microblog of the police on Weibo.com. read: "Can you hold on when you face the round moon somewhere far away from home as the Mid-Autumn Festival calls you to reunite with your family?

"Call 110 and turn yourself in by the end of this year, and you realize your dream of family reunion and enjoy special discounts - lighter sentences."

The notice, put up by police in Guangdong province, is one of many similar missives published by police across the country on their official microblog. The trend is being viewed by some as the police's attempt to "act cute" to seek attention.

People have objected to the call by police, as it reflects the tone of online shopping advertisements.

The trend began in June when Jiangsu province police announced: "Oh dear, why do you commit the crime? Ten years behind bars would be a big discount for you!"

Soon police in other provinces and cities began to imitate the tone, with Shanghai's Xuhui district traffic police publishing a similar call on their microblog, addressing criminals as "dear" and advising them to "end the pain by ordering an arrest service."

The notice was taken offline after it attracted comments from thousands of people - some praising this new idea and some criticising it for ignoring the feelings of victims or their families and damaging the reputation and "iron fist" image of police.