SINGAPORE - He accused his girlfriend of being unfaithful, tormenting the woman for four days by acts such as whipping her bare buttocks with a cane about 40 times and threatening to kill her family.

The jobless man, 25, also forced the 22-year-old victim to kneel on lighters and took nude pictures of her, threatening to disseminate them to others.

The man, who cannot be named due to a gag order to protect the woman's identity, was sentenced on Friday to seven months' jail after pleading guilty to one count each of assault, insulting a woman's modesty and criminal intimidation.

Five other charges were considered during sentencing for the offences which he committed until March 31 last year. Court documents did not state if the couple are still together.

On March 28 last year, the woman had planned to stay overnight at his Hougang flat but later changed her mind.

However, the man refused to let her leave.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Ang Siok Chen told District Judge Jasvender Kaur that the man accused the woman of infidelity and ordered her to strip.

The DPP added: "The accused then threatened to harm the victim's family members unless she complied with his demands... and allowed him to take photographs of her naked body."

The woman gave in out of fear and let him use his mobile phone to snap pictures of her in the nude.

He then showed her the photographs and threatened to disseminate them if she did not obey him in future.

DPP Ang said the couple were in the flat two days later when the man "acted hysterically" and again accused his girlfriend of being unfaithful.

He forced her to kneel on two lighters, one on each side, and threatened to kill her family members if she did not comply.

When she knelt, he took a cane and used it to hit her arms and right thigh.

He told her that she could either receive more lashes or he would go to her home to "make a mess".

Fearing for the safety of her family, she chose to be caned. He ordered her to lie on his bed and caned her bare buttocks about 40 times.

Court documents did not disclose how she finally left the flat, but her mother alerted the police on March 31.

When the woman went to the Singapore General Hospital three days later, she was found to have bruises on her buttocks and was given three days of medical leave.

The DPP told the court that the man had been diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder and borderline personality traits.

However, she stressed that his psychiatric disorder did not have "any substantial contributory link" to his offences.

He is now out on bail of $15,000 and will surrender himself at the State Courts on July 31 to begin serving his jail term.

For assault, he could have been jailed for up to two years and fined up to $5,000.