A former management trainee of a five-star hotel was jailed for five months on Friday for molesting an in-room dining staff.

Indian national Sethuraman Thirumeni, 33, had pleaded guilty to grabbing the 36-year-old on her arms, kissing her and squeezing her breast in a room of the hotel in the central area on May 2 this year.

A court was told that the victim was clearing plates along the corridor at the hotel when Thirumeni told her that there were plates to be collected in a room.

She realised that there were no plates to be cleared after he led her to the room.

As she was about to leave, he tried to block her and molested her.

The victim, who struggled, managed to break free and informed her supervisor about the incident. She lodged a police report that evening.

Thirumeni's lawyer said his client remained unemployed during the six months of investigation and was absent during his wife's recent delivery of their first child in India.

The maximum penalty for molestation is two years' jail, fine and caning.