Police commanders in central China hired four fake "bank robbers" to check their subordinates' ability to handle an emergency, sparking a nationwide controversy, especially among the online community.

Senior police officers in Zhengzhou City, capital of Henan Province, ordered four masked gunmen to rob a financial institution on Monday, Guangzhou Daily reported yesterday.

The men broke into a savings agency of China Post and snatched a bag containing 200,000 yuan (US$29,000) from a customer. They told clerks to hand over money and ordered people at the scene to get down, the report said.

A clerk pressed a button that sounded an alarm at a police station.

The "robbers" fled in four different directions. All four were seized within two hours. Officers took part in the operation and were later told it was only a drill.

Only the director and vice director of Zhengzhou police knew the bank robbery was a simulation.

The drill was designed to test the ability of police officers and bank clerks in dealing with an emergency, the report said, citing police.

However, questions have been raised by Netizens about what authorities will do to help people suffering from psychological trauma due to the incident, the report said.

(Shanghai Daily January 23, 2009)