A MAN stripped and covered his face with his T-shirt before barging into a flat to peep at a teen taking a shower.

Tan Wee Beng, 29, went on to cause hurt, as well as molest the 16-year-old girl in an HDB block in Chin Swee Road early this year.

He was jailed for 13 months and ordered to be given three strokes of the cane yesterday. He had pleaded guilty.

The court heard that Tan was walking along the corridor of the block on Jan 3 when he saw the victim's 11-year-old sister watching television alone in the living room.

A thought came to him that all females were "betrayers'' and he wanted to either scare or hurt the girl physically or mentally.

The court was told he took off his clothes, including his underwear, to avoid being identified, and left them at the lift landing.

Covering his face with a T-shirt, he then entered the flat.

The younger girl shouted at him, but he ignored her and went around the flat to check if any adults were in.

Finding none, he took a stool from the kitchen and climbed on it to peep at the older girl in the bathroom.

However, she spotted him and wrapped a towel around herself before coming out.

She tried to push him out, but he resisted and scratched her on the arm and breast in the process.

Outside the flat, he became aroused and pleaded with her twice to let him touch her.

She refused. He then molested her and ran away.

Tan surrendered himself about three weeks later after local newspapers published a photograph of his face taken from CCTV footage inside the lift.

He could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or have received a combined sentence for molestation.

The maximum penalty for causing hurt is two years' jail and a $5,000 fine, while intruding into the privacy of a woman carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a fine.

ELENA CHONG