While it's unclear why the developer was so smug about publicizing his violation of traffic rules online, what really sparked the outcry was the fact that Pan drove a Toyota Land Cruiser SUV, which has a whopping fuel capacity of 5.7 liters. A gas guzzler of the most voracious kind.

People find it contradictory that one claims to care so much about air quality and at the same time contributes mightily to emissions and pollution. It's as ironic and offensive as someone who promotes animal welfare and still wears fur, his critics say.

The irony is compounded thanks to the uncanny ability of China's web vigilantes to spot telltale signs of deception.

It was exposed that the camera Pan used to take pictures of the smog was worth about 250,000 yuan (US$41,666), and the pictures he uploaded on weibo appeared staged.

In two pictures, he was shown taking photos of the smog-enveloped toll gates with his back facing the camera; in another snapshot, he was pictured showing his lawmaker certificate to an unseen security guard, in hopes of getting a break, or even being fawned on.

Apparently, our image-conscious developer took a photographer along to ensure good publicity for his good deeds.

One inevitably asks, is it a genuine show of concern about the environment, or is it a contrived act of theater by a narcissistic play actor?

And the list of narcissistic acts goes on.

In January, Pan accepted a friend's invitation and flew all the way from Beijing to Shanghai, just to monitor the PM2.5 levels in Shanghai metro trains. Throughout the journey aboard the city's Metro Line 2, the beaming developer collected air samples with a portable monitoring device as curious passengers around looked on. And of course, he was mobbed by photographers.