SINGAPORE - A foreign worker who went to a flat to install a fibre optic cable earlier this year molested a 12-year old girl there. On Friday he was sentenced to nine months' jail.

A district court heard that Chellamuthu Gajendran, 36 went to the flat at about 3pm on March 3 to carry out the installation works. The girl, a primary school student, was in the flat with her younger brother and she was reading a book in the living room.

About 15 minutes later, he asked to use the toilet and the girl showed him the way.

He then approached her and hugged her. He did this again later and also touched her breasts.

Shocked, the victim did not say anything and moved away. She sat down and continued to read her book. He repeated the acts and she pushed him away.

Asked if she liked it, she replied emphatically that she did not.

When she asked why he had done that to her, he said that he could not control himself.

The girl told her parents about the incident the next day via text message as she was too embarrassed to talk about it in person . Her father took her to make a police report that evening.

Gajendran was arrested on March 18.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Michael Quilindo said Gajendran had taken advantage of the fact that the girl was alone when he molested her in the sanctity of her own home.

Lawyer Rajan Supramaniam said his client, a father of two, is profoundly remorseful and offers his apology to the victim.

He said Gajendran had been working in Singapore for the past five years and had lost his job.

District Judge Low Wee Ping told Gajendran that he had been very foolish, and that he could have faced three charges and be punished with caning.

The maximum penalty for molesting a person under 14 years old is five years' jail, fine and caning.