Dubai, Apr 20 (IANS): A court in the UAE on Sunday adjourned till April 27 the hearing in a case relating to the attempted sexual assault on an 11-year-old Indian boy in a mosque in Dubai.

A Pakistani technician, 57, identified only as DK, has been accused of raping the boy in a mosque's washroom Jan 9 this year, Gulf News reported.

The suspect took the boy to the washroom and then removed his trousers, the court heard.

When the defendant was about to have sex with the boy, the boy managed to open the door and escaped from the washroom of the mosque in Souq Al Hamriya, the newspaper report said.

The defendant, however, denied the charge before the Dubai Court of First Instance Sunday.

He contended that he only slapped the boy inside the washroom, where he was performing the ablution or washing himself before the prayers.

The boy's father testified to the prosecutors that the boy was terrified following the incident.

The matter was reported to the police immediately by the victim's father.

The accused was arrested after the victim's father spotted him near the mosque.

The boy also admitted that the defendant offered him money if he allowed him to have sex with him.

The prosecution appealed to the court to impose a life sentence on the defendant.