SINGAPORE - A staff nurse at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) who sprayed a patient's face with hand sanitiser three times and punched him twice in the face was jailed for nine weeks on Monday.

Muhammad Ihsan Mahmud, 32, whose alias is Abdul Rahman, started working as a staff nurse at IMH in 2016.

He pleaded guilty to one count each of voluntarily causing hurt and using criminal force on the vulnerable victim.

A third charge for attempting to hurt the victim was taken into consideration.

On the morning of Dec 8, 2019, the Malaysian commenced his shift at the ward, overseeing patients at the day lounge after their haircuts.

At about 10.30am, a patient in his 50s splashed urine on another nurse, who told Muhammad Ihsan about the incident before going to take a shower.

The accused then approached the patient and sprayed hand sanitiser onto his face three times within about six minutes.

The victim, a long-term patient who has been diagnosed with chronic schizophrenia, tried to shield his face by raising his arms each time.

He wiped the hand sanitiser off his face using his shorts and was seen rubbing his eyes.

Muhammad Ihsan also tried to hit the victim with his elbow but the patient managed to dodge him.

The victim later created a disturbance in the lounge. The accused, along with two other colleagues, restrained him.

As they were doing so, the victim became agitated.

Muhammad Ihsan then punched him in the face twice and kicked him in the shin.

Footage of the incident captured by a security camera was played in court.

The victim suffered bruising around his right eye, and the accused reported the injuries to IMH management.

The patient was taken to Singapore General Hospital, where he was found to have also suffered bruising and a fracture on a toe.

A human resource manager at IMH made a police report five days later, stating that the accused and his two colleagues who helped restrain the victim had physically assaulted the patient.

Muhammad Ihsan was terminated as an IMH employee on Jan 9 last year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Phoebe Tan urged the court to jail the accused for 10 weeks, saying he abused the trust placed in him.

"The victim was incapable of protecting himself from abuse and is a vulnerable adult," she said.

"The accused, by virtue of his position, was specifically tasked to protect the patients, but abused the trust placed in him."

Speaking through an interpreter, Muhammad Ihsan asked for leniency, saying he has family in Johor Baru depending on him.

He said he has a five-year-old daughter with special needs, and that his wife has been suffering from depression.

District Judge Teo Guan Kee said nothing in his mitigation justified a reduction in the sentence asked by the prosecution.

But he said he would take into account the accused reporting the injuries.

Responding to queries from The Straits Times, an IMH spokesman said it does not tolerate any acts of inappropriate behaviour against patients.

"Two other staff were also investigated in relation to this incident and the outcome is pending. These staff are no longer employed by IMH," she said.

"IMH has apologised to the patient and his family after the incident and provided support. The patient has recovered from his bruises and is still being cared for in our hospital for his mental health condition."

The spokesman added that following the incident, IMH further reiterated to staff its culture of accountability and reporting issues, with more frequent reviews held to discuss difficult cases in the wards.

For voluntarily causing hurt to a vulnerable victim, Muhammad Ihsan could have been jailed for up to six years, or fined up to $10,000, or both.