It all started because someone filmed a happy pup hanging out the passenger side of a ride labelled “official business” last week. Soon the video — which showed the Volkswagen’s license plate — circulated on Chinese social media, and the vehicle was linked to Lei Wenjia, the chief of the petition bureau in Shaanxi province’s Jia County.

Lei is now being investigated for allowing his daughter and her dog to use a government car, local media reported Tuesday. In recent years, all levels of government in China have tightened scrutiny over official cars as part of President Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption campaign. In Beijing, for example, municipal and district governments have reduced the number of official cars by 40 percent since 2014. (Image: Weibo)