SINGAPORE - The prosecution has urged the court to sentence a former Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) regular to nine years' jail with seven strokes of the cane after he molested a girl in January 2018 and attempted to molest another girl four months later.

On Thursday (Oct 1), Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana said Mohamed Ardlee Iriandee Mohamed Sanip had committed serious offences.

She also said that Ardlee had targeted two young victims.

Defence lawyer Mohamed Muzammil Mohamed pleaded for a lighter sentence, stating that his client was under a period of stress when he committed the offences.

District Judge John Ng also heard that Ardlee had been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.

The 40-year-old Singaporean had earlier claimed trial, and on Feb 27, Judge Ng found him guilty of molesting an eight-year-old girl in January 2018.

On March 23, Ardlee admitted in court that he tried to molest a 10-year-old girl in May that year. The two girls cannot be named due to a gag order.

Court documents did not disclose Ardlee's rank and role at the Safti Military Institute where he was based at the time of the offences.

The Straits Times understands that he is no longer an SAF regular.

In her earlier submissions, DPP Sruthi said Ardlee had developed an interest in young girls a month before targeting the first victim and was "predisposed to thoughts of molesting them, and had thought of doing so by waiting near primary schools for opportunities".

The victim and her friend were walking back from school at around 3pm on Jan 22, 2018, when they saw him at a Tampines block where the friend's grandparents lived.

The victim accompanied her friend to the flat and was on her way to her own home when Ardlee grabbed her hand near a lift lobby and molested her.

He released the girl only after she told him to stop several times. She returned to the flat of her friend's grandparents and the police were alerted.

Later that year on May 21, Ardlee attempted to outrage a 10-year-old girl's modesty in Choa Chu Kang at around 4pm. She was on her way home from school when she saw him at her block's lift lobby.

She entered the lift alone, but when she got to the second storey, he was standing in front of the lift door.

He then placed a hand on her shoulder and pulled her towards the corner of a staircase landing area. The girl resisted and started screaming.

Ardlee released her and fled. The girl returned home and told her aunt about what happened. Police arrested him the next day.

His bail was set at $30,000 on Thursday and he will be sentenced on Oct 27.

Offenders convicted of molesting a child below 14 years old can be jailed for up to 10 years and caned.