The query is generated with a comma after distinct keyword which is not expected.

Code snippet setting the projection:
criteria.setProjection(Projections.countDistinct("id"));
final Object result =
criteria
.setMaxResults(2)
.setFirstResult(0).uniqueResult();

Query generated:
SELECT TOP (2) count(DISTINCT, this_.tbl_id) AS y0_ FROM tbl this_ WHERE
this_.tbl_id2 IN
(SELECT tbl.tbl_id2
FROM tbl
INNER JOIN tbl2 ON tbl2.tbl2_id = tbl.tbl_id2
WHERE tbl2.tbl2_flg = 'Y' AND tbl2.tbl2_nm = 'abc')