Jaycee Chan is surrounded by fans and journalists at a promotion event for his 2013 movie Love Speaks in Jinan, Shandong province.

Some social media users have commented that they did not know who the offenders were before they were arrested. And some joked drug use is like a sex scandal and people who want to make headlines must take a chance.

Young netted in drug abuse blitz

Chinese celebrities caught with drugs

But others have been alarmed by the tolerant attitude toward the celebrities from their loyal fans.

"I think they should not be scolded or punished, because they deserve to be forgiven at least once," a netizen with the user name "Zhu Sihan Xi Buxi" posted on Sina Weibo.

A female college student even took drugs before turning herself in to the police, in the hope she would meet Ko in prison, Chongqing TV reported.

Cao Kefan, a TV anchor with Shanghai Television, says media should reflect on the way they report celebrity drug use - and question their professionalism when they rush to make leading news out of these sorts of scandals, reported Shanghai Morning Post.

Media can be tolerant of celebrities who make mistakes, but should not condone such bad behavior. The public can forgive them, but should not encourage them to make mistakes, Cao says.