A 23-year-old Maltese man has been kept in police custody after he was charged with raping a woman after getting her drunk on their first date.

Inspector Eman Heyman testified in court that the woman had informed the police of the alleged rape on 16th August but told them she didn’t want to file a formal report. However, she changed her mind two days later and filed a formal report against the man, who lives in Senglea.

The woman told police she had gone out for drinks with the man after meeting him on a social site. She said that they drank wine together and that she lost control of her senses, after which the man “took control over her”.

She said she woke up in his apartment, wearing only her underpants and with pain in her genital area, despite having told the man she wanted to go home.

The man pleaded not guilty and his defence lawyer requested bail, but the prosecution objected on the grounds that his criminal record was already tarnished with sexual crimes. Magistrate Ian Farrugia agreed with the prosecution and ordered that the man be kept in custody.

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