SINGAPORE - A former Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) regular was sentenced on Tuesday (Oct 27) to 7 1/2 years' jail and six strokes of the cane for molesting a girl and attempting to molest another victim four months later. Mohamed Ardlee Iriandee Mohamed Sanip was convicted on Feb 27, following a trial, of molesting an eight-year-old girl in January 2018. On March 23, he admitted in court that he had tried to molest a 10-year-old girl in May that year as well. 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 - his deployment at the time of the offences. Before sentencing Ardlee on Tuesday, District Judge John Ng noted that the 40-year-old was a first-time offender but added that his offences were "very serious" and they involved young schoolgirls. Judge Ng said the punishment should be severe enough to "reflect the condemnation" of such acts. In her submissions, Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana stated that Ardlee had developed an interest in young girls a month before targeting the first victim. The DPP added that he was also "predisposed to thoughts of molesting them, and had thought of d...