SINGAPORE - An unemployed man was jailed for nine weeks on Friday (June 10) for molesting a woman on board an MRT train.

Indian national Godiyal Pramod, 37, who is a Singapore permanent resident, pleaded guilty to standing behind and rubbing himself repeatedly against a 21-year-old woman on the train travelling from City Hall to Bugis MRT station on May 4 last year.

A court heard that the woman boarded the train at City Hall at about 6pm that day and was going to meet her boyfriend at Bugis.

As the train was crowded, she stood close to the middle of the cabin. Pramod positioned himself behind her.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Tan Soo Tet said that initially, the woman did not realise that the contact between Pramod and her was deliberate.

She moved towards the train doors to distance herself but Pramod followed and kept rubbing himself against her buttocks.

She could see that it was Pramod through the reflection in the glass panels of the train doors.

When the train arrived at the Bugis MRT station, she alighted, followed by Pramod. She later told her boyfriend about the incident and they reported it to the SMRT staff.

Pramod's lawyer Amarjit Singh Sidhu said in mitigation that his client's wife and his young daughter have been receiving financial help from the Ministry of Social and Family Development since May this year.

He said Pramod is deeply remorseful and felt that he has let his family, friends and most importantly, himself, down.

A second similar charge was taken into consideration in sentencing.

Pramod could have been jailed for up to two years, fined, caned or received any combined punishment.