SINGAPORE - For two months, a 58-year-old man pictured himself molesting his neighbour's seven-year-old daughter.

When he saw her playing by herself along the common corridor in mid-November 2016, he lured her into his Housing Board flat with ice cream, and performed the vile act.

The paedophile almost raped the girl whom he had abducted and it was fortuitous that his medical condition prevented him from doing so, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Siti Adrianni Marhain.

She argued that the case was deserving of the maximum sentence for molesting a minor.

District Judge Kessler Soh agreed, calling it the "worst case of its kind". He imposed five years' jail on the unemployed man for outraging the modesty of a girl below 14 years old.

The accused, who cannot be named due to a gag order, was also sentenced to one year's jail for abducting the girl. Judge Soh ordered the two sentences to run consecutively.

The accused was given two weeks' jail as well for being in fraudulent possession of 26 EZ-Link and nine Kopitiam cards amounting to $48, on Feb 21 this year. He could not provide a satisfactory explanation of how he got them.

This sentence is concurrent.

DPP Siti said a few months before the offences, the accused started fantasising about children when he could not perform while trying to have sex with prostitutes.

"He had not had sex with his wife for 10 years. He fantasised about young boys and girls around seven or eight years old," she said, adding that he felt "excited" when they greeted him as "uncle".

As for the victim, he actually imagined himself molesting her in his flat some two months before he did it.

After luring her into his living room last November, he told her to enter a bedroom, but she said no. But he pulled her into the bedroom, closed the door and forced her to lie on a bed.

He rubbed himself against her but there was no penetration. The victim's ordeal lasted for about 15 to 20 minutes.

When the victim shouted for help a few times, he put a finger to his mouth to indicate that she should keep quiet.

He then gave her sweets before releasing her.

The victim remained silent about the incident for some time before telling her parents. Her father took her to make a police report on Feb 18, 2017 and the accused was arrested three days later.

While in remand for psychiatric assessment, he was found to be of sound mind but revealed a "grooming" behaviour with children.

A subsequent report from the Institute of Mental Health states that he "meets criteria for a diagnosis of paedophile disorder".

The victim's father no longer allows her to play outside her home unsupervised, said DPP Siti.

Pleading for leniency, the accused, who had previous convictions for attempted armed robbery, theft and harbouring, sought forgiveness for what he had done. He said his wife is suffering from depression and that no one is looking after his daughter.

The maximum penalty for abduction is seven years' jail, fine and caning. The accused cannot be caned as he is above 50.