DNA samples 'do not match'

Fresh developments in the investigation of the rape of a 55-year-old Floriana woman has led the Magistrates' Court to recall the case against a young Arab man charged with the crime.

Sources said yesterday the court is expected to be told that preliminary results of DNA tests involving Jamal Badawi, the accused, did not give a match. The sources said this unexpected result could mean the collapse of the case against Badawi who has always protested his innocence and had even requested that the case against him be heard in open court because he had nothing to hide.

Badawi, married to a Maltese woman, is pleading not guilty to the rape and illegal arrest of the woman in Floriana on June 29, violently and indecently assaulting her, offending public morals, seriously injuring her and carrying an air pistol without a licence.

The case against him was originally scheduled to continue on Wednesday. The last sitting was held on Tuesday when the victim testified behind closed doors.