Melbourne:
A Nepalese belonging to royal family has been accused of raping a woman who was sleeping in her Sydney house while the accused came to deliver a takeaway Indian meal.
The 21-year-old Amit Hamal appeared in a local court yesterday following charges of having sexual relations with the woman without her consent on July 16.
Hamal's bail was denied and the case was adjourned till July 29, according to Australian media.
His lawyer claimed that Hamal was a member of the Nepalese royal family and disputed the charge, saying the sex was consensual.
On the day of incident, the delivery driver rang the doorbell twice and telephoned. The door was ajar and Hamal went inside where he saw a man asleep on the lounge, but he could not wake him, the lawyer said.
Hamal then walked into a bedroom where the 44-year-old woman was asleep and when she eventually stirred, she took off some clothing and they had consensual sex, the lawyer said.
However, the victim's lawyer said the charge was of a serious sexual nature and further charges were likely.
It was also submitted that the accused was a flight risk while noting that he was arrested at Sydney airport on Monday night with a one-way ticket to Bangkok.