Brussels, Oct 11 (IANS): Bicky Burger, a Belgian fast-food chain, has apologised after posting an ad deemed "sickening" and "irresponsible" on social media showing a man punching a woman for handing him the wrong burger.

Bicky Burger posted the comic-book image on Facebook on Tuesday featuring a man striking a woman with the words: "Serious, a fake Bicky?", the BBC reported.

Goodlife Foods, the Dutch food producer behind Bicky Burger, later said it "regretted" the post and deleted it.

"We had no intention of inciting violence," the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Belgium's Jury of Ethical Advertising (JEP) said it had received hundreds of complaints within hours of the ad appearing on Facebook.

Two politicians responsible for gender equality in Belgium's French-speaking Wallonia region called on the advertising body to investigate.

Benedicte Linard, vice-president of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation - a political entity that covers women's rights, culture and education - said it was "totally irresponsible" to trivialise domestic violence.

She wrote in a tweet that 18,000 domestic violence complaints had been registered with the federation in 2016.

Nawal Ben Hamou, secretary of state for equality in Brussels, posted a message on Facebook describing the ad as "sickening and totally irresponsible" (in French), reports the BBC.

Some Twitter users also used the controversy to highlight the issue of domestic violence in Belgium, while others posted messages calling for consumers to boycott the brand.