An unemployed man was jailed for nine months on Thursday for cutting a woman's underwear so that he could look at her buttocks.

At 4.40am on Sept 22 last year, Rostam Salim, 42, was loitering at Hougang Avenue 5 when he saw a woman sleeping on a bench at the void deck of a block of flats. She was wearing a long black skirt and a black long-sleeved top. Her male friend, aged 40, was asleep on another bench.

He lifted her skirt and then pulled her underwear down before cutting it with a penknife so that he could see her buttocks.

The 45-year-old woman woke up and Rostam grabbed her mobile phone and tried to run away. Awakened by the noise, her friend caught hold of Rostam.

Police were called and he was placed under arrest.

In a district court on Thursday, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to nine months in jail for outraging the modesty of his victim.

Charges for stealing the cell phone and having a penknife with a 11.5cm blade were taken into consideration by the judge when passing sentence.