A robber punched the head of a heavily pregnant woman in the lift when she did not let go of her handbag which contained $3,000. Muhammad Noh Mohammad Jais, 26, also tried to choke her.

Ms Baquiran Majella Cybelle Fernandez, 34, who was eight months pregnant then, stood her ground and he fled empty-handed.

Two days later on Nov 14 last year, he struck again and snatched a handbag with items amounting to $515 from Ms Chng Seok Keng. The 29-year-old victim was then nine months pregnant.

He pleaded guilty to stealing from Ms Chng and attempting to rob Ms Fernandez and was sentenced in district court on Tuesday to six years in jail and 16 strokes of the cane.

Police officers, who responded to Ms Chng's call, established the thief's identity through the video footage from the surveillance camera in the lift and Muhammad Noh was arrested an hour later in Tampines Central. He then led police to a rubbish bin where Mr Chng's iPhone, valued at $500, was found.

In 2010, he was jailed for three years and caned 12 times for robbery. His victim then was also pregnant.