Image copyright Getty Images Image caption JJ Lin is a popular Mandopop singer and won best Mandarin male singer in the Golden Melody Awards

Eleven staff have been suspended from a Chinese hospital on suspicion of trying to sell medical products used by a popular singer.

A photo of a drip bag and syringe said to have been used by JJ Lin during his recent hospital stay in Jiangsu province were posted online by staff.

He had been admitted to hospital last week with a fever following a concert.

Lin, 38, has released 13 Mandopop albums - pop music sung in Mandarin - since 2013 and won best Mandarin male singer in the Golden Melody Awards.

Among the items posted for sale on Chinese social media platform Weibo were an IV drip, a syringe, and a drinking cup.

Image copyright Weibo Image caption Mandopop singer JJ Lin was admitted to hospital with a fever last week

Video of staff lying on the bed Lin was staying in was also shared online, according to Chinese outlet Global Times.

The hospital has since issued an apology to Lin and stated the medical waste had been disposed of in accordance with regulations.

A representative for Lin said his team were "unhappy" and called for a boycott of "star-chasing" behaviour.

Thousands of people on Weibo welcomed the hospital's decision to discipline staff.

"Do medical professionals have any professional ethics in protecting patient privacy?" asked one user.

Another expressed shock at the incident, writing: "Leaking patient information, and not saying a word of apology," while another said: "Medical waste should be specially handled - this is illegal."

In late August, a five-star hotel in China apologised after staff tried to auction off a stay in a recently vacated hotel room occupied by by Hong Kong singer Karen Mok.

It was advertised as "complete with her lingering warmth and smell" in the form of dirty hotel sheets and towels.