Beijing, Jul 16 (IANS): A man in China called for an ambulance as he complained of chest pain. And when the ambulance arrived, he asked the staff to go and buy him two steamed buns.

Beijing's 120 Emergency Medical Center said that 30 percent of emergency ambulance calls were unnecessary.

"This month, for the ambulance I'm assigned to, 30 to 40 runs were from timewasters out of 140 in total," a doctor, Zhao, said.

Zhao said one man called for ambulance, and when it arrived he said he was hungry and asked the crew to go out and buy him two steamed buns, the People's Daily reported.

"There were drunks asking for a ride home, and a man who said he was dizzy and actually wanted us to settle a fight with his wife. So we don't waste limited emergency resources, we really hope that we can get some legislation established," said Zhao.

Li Jianren, an official, told the Global Times that they usually have 100 ambulances on duty out of a fleet of 400.

"We receive a lot of calls about people who had fainted by the roadside, but actually they are just sleeping in the shade," Li said.