SINGAPORE — A banner advertising traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) child massage services in Jurong has been removed after inappropriate images of young children were used in the promotion of the clinic's services.

The banner, which advertised child massage therapy services at Goodlady TCM & Beauty Spa, featured images of topless young children lying down while receiving a massage. One child's face was clearly visible and identifiable.

The banner included text promoting how the services could help children "cope with stress" and "build immunity".

The banner was the subject of a backlash on online forums such as Reddit with numerous comments condemning the use of the children's images as inappropriate and "unsettling".

According to the owner of Goodlady TCM & Beauty Spa Audrey Chen, the banner was put up last weekend and has since been taken down. 

On Tuesday (April 2), a spokesperson for Jurong-Clementi Town Council told TODAY that the council was aware of the banner and had already advised the operator about it, who "promptly removed the banner yesterday".

"We are reviewing our policy on the display of such advertisement banners," the spokesperson added.

In response to TODAY's queries, Ms Chen apologised for the banner and confirmed that it had been taken down, adding that the original banner had been approved by the town council to be put up.

"We apologise if the pictures have caused any discomfort to anybody, that was certainly not the intention," she said.

"We just wanted to show potential customers our range of TCM services offered by our all-female masseuse team, which include massage for infants and kids," Ms Chen said.

Ms Chen added that the town council is in touch with the clinic and an "amended banner with new graphics has been submitted to the town council" for approval.

TODAY has reached out to the town council to clarify if it had seen the banner before approving its use. TODAY has also contacted the Advertising Standards Authority Of Singapore for comment.