A chef in Singapore visited a massage parlour in Aljunied for Chinese cupping recently with his wife.

What was supposed to be a trip to relieve stress and body aches from work turned out to bring more pain instead.

Suffers burns and blisters from Chinese cupping

The 36-year-old John Rey visited the outlet which provides massage and foot reflexology services on July 28 at 10pm.

On his Facebook post, he wrote that the burns were so bad and the staff who did the cupping did not seem to be very experienced.

He also posted photos of his back showing the burns and blisters after the session.

He also said in his post that the outlet offered to give him a free session if he comes back for the 11th time.

Rey's post has since been taken down but it has been well circulated in other Facebook pages.

Speaking to the Chinese evening newspaper, Lianhe Wanbao, Rey said that he was taking a walk with his wife that evening when they walked past the outlet and decided to do some massage and cupping.

Little did he expect to feel more pain from the burns and he did not feel better from his body aches after the session.

As this was his first time trying out cupping, he did not know if the burning sensation was normal.

The pain worsened the next day and there were even blisters on his back.

It hurt so much that he could not sleep on his back for two nights, Rey told Wanbao.

Rey however did not see a doctor as he was worried that he will be forced to take medical leave if he does so.

He added that he is working at a restaurant and they are short on manpower so he did not want to take any off days despite feeling pain.

Fortunately, Rey's wife did not suffer from burns like his.

Massage parlour refunded him

Wanbao reported that the boss of the outlet has gotten in touch with Rey and have refunded both of them.

The 41-year-old said that she received Rey's WhatsApp message alerting her to the burns from the cupping session at her outlet.

She immediately called him to explain it could be due to skin sensitivity.

She also urged Rey to see a doctor and offered to pay for the medical bill.

However, she said that Rey only asked for a refund.

She refunded the couple the full sum on Aug. 2.

Top photos via John Rey's Facebook