A child molester sentenced to 14 months' jail in 2015 was back in court yesterday for a similar offence.

Muhammad Dzulkiffle Osman, 26, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year and eight months' jail and given three strokes of the cane for molesting a nine-year-old girl in a lift in May this year.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Chee Ee Ling told the court that in the previous offence, he had followed a 12-year-old girl into a lift before molesting her.

In the latest incident on May 16, he spotted a nine-year-old girl entering a convenience store in Boon Lay, waited for her and tailed the Primary 4 pupil as she walked home to a nearby block of flats. The court heard that Dzulkiffle, who suffers from a paedophilic disorder and is deemed to have a moderate risk for re-offending, felt an uncontrollable urge to touch the victim.

The girl was alone in a lift and its door was closing when Dzulkiffle tried to enter. The unsuspecting child held the door open and he stepped inside.

After the door closed, Dzulkiffle inched closer to his victim and hugged her from behind.

The DPP told District Judge Edgar Foo: "Terrified, the victim struggled out of the grasp of the accused and backed into a corner of the lift, while screaming for her mother. The accused relentlessly went closer to the victim, who continued screaming."

The court heard that the lift door opened and the girl ran home. The police were alerted nine hours later.

Yesterday, DPP Chee urged the court to sentence Dzulkiffle to at least a year and eight months' jail with three strokes of the cane.

He said: "The accused targeted her at her place of residence, where she is supposed to feel safe and secure."

For outraging the child's modesty, Dzulkiffle could have been jailed for up to five years and fined or caned.