A self-employed man, who molested a performing artiste at a carpark in the early hours of the morning, has been jailed for two years and ordered to be given three strokes of the cane.

Hsu Yisong, 25, was convicted last week of lifting the 27-year-old Chinese national's top to grab her breast.

He tried to pull down her shorts, intending to outrage her modesty, and caused wrongful restraint by grabbing her neck in MacKenzie Road on Jan 25 last year.

Investigations showed that the woman was walking through the carpark in MacKenzie Road at about 3.30am that day when she sensed someone following her. She turned around and saw Hsu.

She also saw six men standing in the carpark and assumed she would be safe and continued walking.

Suddenly, Hsu ran towards her and restrained her from behind in a neck lock. He then molested her even as she shouted for help.

He tried to pull down her shorts but she struggled and broke free after biting him on his arm.

Upon hearing her shouts, the six men ran towards her. Two of them gave chase and caught up with Hsu, who had flagged and boarded a taxi in Selegie Road near Hotel 81.

The duo managed to detain him and called the police.

Hsu, whose sentence was backdated to May 12, could have been jailed for up to 10 years and caned for causing wrongful restraint during the molestation.