SINGAPORE - A man was sentenced on Wednesday (Dec 23) to eight months' jail and two strokes of the cane for molesting a friend in her home after a night out.

Earlier this month, the 30-year-old Singaporean pleaded guilty in a district court to one count of molestation.

Four other similar charges were considered during sentencing. The man cannot be named because of a gag order to protect the victim's identity.

The court heard that the two were drinking with other friends from about 9pm on Nov 15 last year and left the bar around 1am.

The 25-year-old woman invited the man and two other friends to hang out at her home at a Mount Vernon Road condominium.

One of the friends left at around 3am while the other fell asleep on a living room sofa.

The offender asked the woman if he could stay overnight. They continued chatting in the living room when she agreed.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Daniel Ling had earlier said: "The accused and the victim talked about 'spooning', which is a sexual topic. After some time, both the victim and the accused fell asleep on the living room floor.

"Some time later, the victim woke up and realised that the accused was hugging her from behind."

She left him to use the toilet and fell asleep in her own bedroom, leaving the door to it open.

The man then crept into her bed. The victim was shocked to find him resting beside her, the court heard.

He then slipped his left hand into her top and molested her.

DPP Ling had told the court: "Scared and frightened, the victim took the opportunity to roll away from the accused and faced away from him. The victim felt disgusted and outraged.

"Soon after, the accused's alarm went off, indicating that it was about 6.30am. The accused got up from the victim's bed and left the (unit)."

The woman told her boyfriend, who was then studying overseas, about the incident, before alerting the police on Nov 21 last year.

The offender is now out on bail of $15,000 and will surrender himself on Jan 4 next year to begin serving his sentence.

For molestation, he could have been jailed for up to two years, and fined or caned.