SINGAPORE - A serial molester who touched a 10-year-old boy living near him was jailed for a year and eight months on Thursday.

Teo Koon Tian approached the youngster as he played with his mobile phone at a void deck table and told him he was "cute and handsome", then twice touched him on the cheeks.

Although the boy ignored him, the 57-year-old sat down next to him and rubbed his thigh repeatedly, despite the victim's attempts to push his hands away.

Teo walked away but was arrested after the boy's family later saw him loitering in the area and made a police report.

He pleaded guilty to molesting the boy at about 4.30pm on July 18, but escaped caning because of his age.

The court heard that the incident took place in the void deck of a block of HDB flats in Yishun. Teo had spotted his victim while drinking beer nearby.

Teo was convicted of a similar offence in 2004 - committed against a 13-year-old boy - and sentenced to 15 months in jail plus nine strokes of the cane.

The maximum penalty for outraging the modesty of a person under the age of 14 is a jail term of five years, caning, and a fine.