A man who allegedly raped his girlfriend also forced her to undress before another man and told her that she was the devil, a court was told on Wednesday.

The case allegedly took place in October at the woman’s Gzira apartment, which she shared with the son of a friend of the accused, Ogaga Epete, a 26-year old Nigerian with whom she had been in a relationship.

Prosecuting Inspector John Spiteri told the court that a report reached the police Domestic Violence Unit on October 25 from a woman who claimed that the night before, she had been raped by her boyfriend.

The man had appeared to be acting rather strangely when he turned up at her apartment, ordering her to engage in sex against her will, she had told the police.

He kept demanding “sexual pleasures” even in the presence of her flatmate, telling her to undress in front of the other man.

Worse still, he told her that she was the devil and that he wanted to “engage in carnal connection with the devil” as some form of ritual, the woman later told police, describing that “never before” episode as “very strange.”

The police arrested the suspect and accompanied him to a health clinic and then to the mental hospital where he was held for observation.

On Monday, medical professionals certified the man as fit to release a statement under interrogation and also fit to face prosecution.

He was charged with raping the alleged victim, engaging in non-consensual sexual acts, holding her against her will, and causing her slight injuries as certified by two gynaecologists and a forensic doctor.

He pleaded not guilty and his lawyer requested bail, arguing that the accused was innocent until proven guilty and that all evidence had been preserved and therefore there was no risk of tampering.

Moreover, the court had sufficient tools to ensure that the accused would abide by bail conditions.

The prosecution vehemently objected to the request.

A balance between the rights of the accused and those of society had to be achieved and it was  “absolutely premature” to award bail at such an early stage when the alleged victim was still to testify, argued AG lawyer Angele Vella.

Moreover, the accused had no ties to the Maltese islands and this was a case of “high sensitivity” allegedly affecting not one but more persons, said the prosecutor.

Prosecuting Inspector Spiteri further pointed out that while the accused was being kept at the mental asylum, he had tried to make contact with the alleged victim.

Testimonial evidence in this case was highly important and there existed the possibility that the victim might be tempted to drop the charges, went on the inspector.

The fear of tampering and the ensuing obstruction to justice was thus real.

Magistrate Ian Farrugia refused bail in light of the serious nature of the charges, the fact that the prosecution’s most important witness was still to testify and the fact that the accused had no ties in Malta.

All those factors taken together meant that the fear of obstruction to justice became real.

AG lawyer Angele Vella prosecuted, assisting inspectors John Spiteri and Omar Zammit.

Lawyer Martin Matthew Farrugia was legal aid counsel to the accused.