A Land Rover painted to look like a Chinese police car is cruising around the streets of Perth, terrifying local expats.

The white 4WD had Chinese characters reading 'police' on the bonnet, and 'public safety' on the side along with a police badge.

Police vehicles in China commonly have the same markings and colour scheme, right down to the stripes on the side.

A Land Rover with Chinese police livery is cruising around the streets of Perth, terrifying the local Chinese community

Police vehicles in China (stock pictured) commonly have the same markings and colour scheme, right down to the stripes on the side

Chinese expats were fearful that their former country could be monitoring them, particularly with the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.

'We are fearful of such Chinese authorities, as most Australians know about the protests in Hong Kong by now,' expat ‎Ho Yan Kwan‎ said.

'So such brazen display, whether actually real or a prank, is worrying for the Hong Konger community here in WA who has no love for China.'

Others who spotted the car feared the Chinese police were actually being allowed to operate in Australia, pointing out the identical car decal.

The white 4WD had Chinese characters reading 'police' on the bonnet, and 'public safety' on the side along with a police badge

Mr Ho shared an email from a WA Police sergeant saying using Chinese markings on cars was not illegal, but not addressing the issue of likeness to Chinese police.

'Whilst I understand your concerns, the person is not committing any WA offences by having Chinese markings on their vehicle, therefore I cannot allocate for this inquiry,' they allegedly wrote.

After the car was reported again this week, WA Police said in a statement that it was 'aware of this matter and is investigating'.