She claimed that each time Chong, 50, groped her breasts in his Hougang flat in 2006, she protested by telling him 'tak boleh' (cannot in Malay), to no avail.

But District Judge Loo Ngan Chor acquitted Chong on Thursday of the six molest charges after finding the maid's testimony 'seriously inconsistent'.

He said: 'In a number of places, the victim's evidence suffers from a deficit of probability.'

In his final submission, Chong's lawyer Mr Luke Lee said there were discrepancies in the timings of the alleged incidents of molests when the maid was cross-examined.

Mr Lee added that her subdued protests when she was molested also 'flies against reason', calling it 'unnatural and unbelievable'.

The maid had claimed that on March 11, her first day of work, Chong came up from behind her as she was washing dishes and again later that day, while teaching her to cut chilli.

The next evening, Chong is said to have pushed her on the elbows and shoulders, and molested her again.

She claimed she raised her voice in protest, not caring if Chong's wife, who was in another room with the door closed, could hear her.

It was her one and only outburst.

However, 10 minutes later when Chong was said to have groped her again in the children's room, she did not raise her voice.

The maid also claimed he molested her again the next morning before offering her money. She turned him down, and left the flat about two hours later to make a police report.

The maid, now 26, who was accompanied by a minder, waited outside the court room and was seen leaving quickly after the verdict was given.

However, Mr Chong who sells fish soup at a market in Telok Blangah, broadly smiled as he walked out of court with his wife.

He told reporters: 'I'm free.'