A hospital in Bangkok, Thailand is now offering penis whitening services for Ksh68, 000.

It is a very popular practice with people travelling from Burma, Cambodia and Hong Kong for the service.

Bunthitta Wattanasiri, manager of the skin and laser department of the Lelux Hospital- which offers the procedure- told IFL Science that they receive approximately 100 patients per month.

“These days a lot of people are asking about it,” Wattanasiri told AFP, “We have to be careful because it’s a sensitive part of the body.”

The Thai Health Ministry has warned men against the procedure as side effects include pain, inflammation, scarring and damage the reproductive system.

The procedure has raised eyebrows as "white skin" is seen as a sign of privilege and "dark skin" is often associated with outdoor labour, therefore, being poorer.

The service went viral after the hospital shared footage of a patient getting his penis whitened went viral.

According to the BBC the original Facebook post- whereby the clinic uses lasers to break down melanin in the skin, was shared more than 19,000 times within two days.

The marketing manager of the hospital, Popol Tansakul, explained to the BBC that the service was requested after they started offering vagina whitening.