In a desperate attempt to conceal the fact she sold jewellery her boyfriend had given her, a woman claimed she was robbed by two men who tried to rape her, a court heard yesterday.

Mary Anne Borg, 29, from Rabat, used a rough dish washing sponge to scrape her face and hit herself to bring out bruises and make her story more credible, sources close to the case said.

Ms Borg yesterday pleaded guilty to filing a false police report on December 5, creating and inventing evidence, falsely accusing a person of a crime and taking a false oath before a court-appointed expert.

She also pleaded guilty to committing a crime during the operative period of a conditional discharge and misappropriating the jewellery.

The police report was filed after she disposed of about €5,000 worth of gold jewellery her boyfriend gave her to keep safe.

She drank alcohol before beating herself up, hitting her legs with her elbows, scraping her face and causing a number of other injuries.

She was questioned a number of times by both the police and court-appointed expert Richard Aquilina and it was not long before they realised that her story did not add up.

She gave a number of versions and later admitted to making the whole story up, the sources said.

Police Inspectors James Grech and Robert Vella asked Magistrate Claire Stafrace Zammit to postpone judgment as the search for the jewellery continued.

Lawyers Veronique Dalli and Dean Hili requested bail. Ms Borg was released against a personal guarantee of €5,000.