The shortage of access to public toilets in Guangzhou subway stations sparked public outcry after a boy was pictured defecating in a subway car.

The photo of the child squatting in a subway carriage went viral after it was posted on the micro-blogging website Sina Weibo on Nov 10.

It immediately fueled complaints about insufficient access to public toilets - only 16 of Guangzhou's more than 100 metro stations have public toilets.