SINGAPORE - A house mover punched his ex-girlfriend's friend so hard that he broke his nose and eye socket.

Soh Yuan Qing, 26, pleaded guilty to an unprovoked attack on 24-year-old Mr Nyoe Jie Ming Jeremy and was sentenced to eight months' jail on Wednesday.

On the night of 27 September 2015, Soh had sent his ex-girlfriend, Ms Denise Heather Ryan, to her condominium in Bukit Batok. Ms Ryan went up to her unit, leaving her cell phone with Soh.

While she was gone, he used her phone to send a text message to her friend, requesting he and Mr Nyoe come to the condominium for a smoke.

When Mr Nyoe arrived, Soh questioned him about several text messages he had sent to Ms Ryan. Suddenly, without warning, he started punching My Nyoe's face and only stopped when his own hand was hurt from delivering the punches.

Among other injuries, Mr Nyoe had two gashes above his left eye which required stitches. He was also given 17 days medical leave to recover.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ryan Lim said that Soh's attack was "prolonged" and "brutish".

District Judge Hamidah Ibrahim said that she took into account how Soh had taken responsibility for his actions by paying Mr Nyoe $900 in compensation.

For causing grievous hurt, Soh could have been jailed for up to 10 years and fined or caned.