SINGAPORE - United Overseas Bank has apologised after typos on a plaque displaying its diamond-embellished card went viral on Wednesday (June 20).

The plaque proclaimed that the UOB Reserve metal card was "for those who value exclusivity in it's most extinguished form".

The gaffe shot to prominence online after Facebook user Mick Price uploaded a picture of the card's plaque.

He wrote: "They should have employed a better copywriter to 'extinguish' themselves from the competition!"

The post has garnered more than 2,400 shares and 1,600 likes since it was posted at 10am. Many netizens flagged another grammatical error with the use of the word "it's".

Facebook user Louis Li Wei-Wen commented: "Oh yeah, spending $1M to extinguish your bank account."

In response to queries from The Straits Times, UOB said that "distinguished" should have been used in place of "extinguished".

Ms Choo Wan Sim, head of cards and payments at UOB Singapore, said: "The promotional text that was printed only for a table display at a private event last night had been overlooked during our clearance process.

"We are sorry and will not let this happen again."

The bank markets the Reserve Card as a key to exclusive privileges that would provide cardholders with highly customised services to suit their tastes. Its website stated that membership was strictly by invitation only, with an annual fee.

Other language gaffes that have made news include a signboard at the entrance of Hillion Mall's KidsZone in Bukit Panjang last year, which had grammatically wrong statements.

One read: "Jellyfish existed before dinosaurs. They do not have brain, instead they are made up of a 'nerve net'."

Another declared: "Hippos can easily outrun a human. They are extremely aggressive and is one of the most dangerous animal in Africa."