A woman was yesterday jailed for 15 months after she falsely claimed two men had raped her in November 2008.

Mona Ibrahimm, 26, a migrant from Saudi Arabia, claimed she had met one of the men, Rezenee Gebray Tevelde in Valletta and they went to Paceville where they met Anderbraham Gebremariam Matthews and others.

According to her account, after having a few drinks, the three went back to Valletta by taxi and the men took her to a deserted area on the side of the Phoenicia Hotel near the former Phoenicia laundry. One of the men made sexual advances but she resisted him. He then punched her, pulled off her clothes and raped her. The other man also participated, she told the police.

She claimed they robbed her of about €300 and left her with only €20, which she used to get back to the open centre where she lived.

Mr Matthews told the police he met Ms Ibrahimm on a bus a few days later and told him that his friend, Mr Tevelde, had stolen money from her and she expected that he, Mr Matthews, would return it. He refused and she made him accompany her to the police station where, much to his surprise, she accused him of rape.

In his statement to the police, Mr Tevelde confirmed he had been to Paceville with the woman and that afterwards she went to his flat and wanted to have sexual relations with him but he refused.

He said the morning after he noticed she had put his wallet in her bag and he took it back.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke noted that gynaecologist Mariella Chircop found no signs of violence on Ms Ibrahimm and there was no indication she had been raped. Another doctor, Marisa Cassar, said swabs taken from her revealed the presence of semen but it did not belong to either of the men.

Lawyer Mark Busuttil was defence counsel.