A man has been remanded in custody after denying in court that he had raped a Maltese woman whom he lured to his home.

Libyan national Mustafa Abu Seadah was arraigned on charges of having raped the 21-year old, held her against her will and slightly injured her.

The man had allegedly befriended the woman at her workplace at a coffee shop in the capital where he regularly turned up as a customer.

He had convinced the girl to visit his home on June 12 when the alleged assault took place.

The victim had reportedly been heavily traumatised by the whole ordeal.

Her alleged aggressor was arrested and marched to court where he denied the charges and requested bail.

The request was, however, turned down by Magistrate Francesco Depasquale who remanded the man in custody.

Inspector Daryl Borg prosecuted.

Lawyer Mario Buttigieg was defence counsel.