While undergoing the Senior Officer's Basic Course at the Home Team Academy in Old Choa Chu Kang Road, a probationary inspector went to Chinatown and rubbed his groin against the buttocks of three unknown women.

Daniel Ong Cher Sian, 40, was ordered to serve 15 months of probation by a district court on Thursday. He had pleaded guilty last month to committing the offences on Jan 21, 2011.

Police officers on an anti-crime patrol at the Chinese New Year Bazaar saw Ong moving close to women buying items at the stalls and rubbing himself against them.

Ong assured District Judge Shaiffudin Saruwan that he would abide with all the conditions of the probation which included attending counselling for his sexual disorder. He had been diagnosed as suffering from frotteurism, which is defined as a sexually deviant behaviour whereby he rubs his erected penis against a stranger in order to obtain sexual gratification.

Asking the court not to impose a jail sentence, defence counsel Suresh Damodara had said his offences were "a cry of help". He added that Ong had committed himself to treatment as soon as he became aware of his psychiatric condition.

Ong, who quit the police force and now does odd jobs, is married with two children aged eight and nine. His wife, who works in sales, signed a $5,000 bond to ensure he does not break the law again during the probation period.