A restaurant in Singapore has apologised for letting customers to catch live crabs from a claw machine.

The House of Seafood restaurant in Punggol district introduced the machine stocked with Sri Lankan crabs, which visitors could try to catch for five Singaporean dollars.

But the stunt backfired and locals criticised the eatery for the apparent animal cruelty.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Singapore criticised the claw machine.

They told local media they were ''disturbed by the concept'' because of the harm caused to the animals ''for the sake of human entertainment''.

SPCA executive director Jaipal Singh Gill called for the machine to be shut down and reported it to authorities in the city state.

She said the crustaceans could be hurt once the claw drops them.

Restaurant owner Francis Ng, 47, later apologised and claimed it had been a way to ''keep children entertained and educate them about the different types of crabs.

He said that plastic had been added to the claw grips in order to prevent the crabs from being hurt and the machine was cushioned.

''We don't keep the crabs in the machine for too long and they are replaced every hour,'' he added.

Mr Ng later stopped operating the machine.

He said in a statement: ''After the concerns from the public members raised, our restaurant had temporary stopped the claw machine, and will carefully review our system. Once again, we are deeply sorry and apologise for any inconvenience and unhappiness that caused. We, at House of Seafood, hope to serve each of you better and thank you for all the feedback.''

A restaurant in Singapore has apologised for letting customers to catch live crabs to eat using a craw grabber machine.

The House of Seafood restaurant in Punggol district launched introduced the machine stocked with Sri Lankan crabs, which visitors could try to catch for five Singaporean dollars.

But the stunt backfired and locals criticised the eatery for the apparent animal cruelty.

The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) in Singapore criticised the machine.

They told local media they were ''disturbed by the concept'' because of the harm caused to the animals ''for the sake of human entertainment''.

SPCA executive director Jaipal Singh Gill called for the machine to be shut down and reported it to authorities in the city state.

She said the crustaceans could be hurt once the claw grabber drops them.

Restaurant owner Francis Ng, 47, later apologised and claimed it had been a way to ''keep children entertained and educate them about the different type of crabs.

He said that plastic had been added to the claw grips in order to prevent the crabs from being hurt and the machine was cushioned.

''We don't keep the crabs in the machine for too long and they are replaced every hour,'' he added.

Mr Ng later stopped operating the machine.

He said in a statement: ''After the concerns raised by the public members, our restaurant had temporary stop the claw machine, and will carefully review our system. Once again, we are deeply sorry and apologise for any inconvenience and unhappiness caused. We, at House of Seafood, hope to serve each of you better and thank you for all the feedback.''