A magistrate has appointed a psychiatrist to determine whether an Estonian who claimed she was raped was mentally fit to stand trial.

The 29-year-old woman went to the police claiming that she had been raped by someone who lived in the same villa in Madliena, where she was living with other people.

Magistrate Natasha Galea Sciberras heard Police Inspectors Sylvana Briffa and Christabelle Chetcuti explain how the woman, who is not being mentioned to protect her identity, reported the alleged rape to the police.

She told the police that she had been raped by a foreign man who barged into her room on August 19 and raped her.

Police began their investigations but CCTV footage revealed that no one had entered her room after her and that she was not seen fleeing from her room as she had claimed.

The woman was charged with filing a false police report on August 20.

No plea was entered as the prosecution and defence lawyer Joseph Mizzi asked the court to appoint a psychiatrist to assess the woman's mental state and determine whether she was mentally fit to stand trial.

The prosecution told the court that from their investigations, it resulted that the woman had fled a psychiatric hospital in Estonia and travelled to Malta.

Magistrate Galea Sciberras acceded to the request. In the meantime, the woman will be held at Mount Carmel Hospital.