A new crane game outlet opened in Tainan City earlier this month (Dec) and its opening gimmick of placing bikini-clad women inside some of its machines has raised some eyebrows.

Monmonda, said to be southern Taiwan's largest crane game facility, marked its official opening on Dec 5 by setting up four machines with the women in swimsuits in them.

Crane game machines, better known as UFOs or toy catchers, are filled with soft toys and other prizes, which can be extracted only by a set of mechanically-operated claws.

These machines have gained huge popularity in Taiwan, with outlets popping up across the country, including many that are open 24/7.

In a live video of the event uploaded onto its Facebook page, the women could be seen posing for the cameras provocatively, while sitting in a pool of soft toys.

However, Monmonda's publicity efforts quickly drew backlash, with many on the Internet criticising it for being distasteful.

According to SoraNews24, some comments include "This is treating women like objects," "I feel dirty just watching this," and "What are children supposed to think when they see this?"

The SoraNews24 report added that the company later posted an apology, saying: "From now on we will reconsider standards for preparing events."