IMF chief 'sex assault' trial postponed - Dominique Strauss-Kahn placed behind bars as his arraignment is put off so that he can undergo forensic examination.

A New York court appearance by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the International Monetary Fund [IMF] chief, to face charges he sexually assaulted a hotel chambermaid has been postponed until Monday so he can undergo an examination, his lawyers have said.

"Our client willingly consented to a scientific and forensic examination tonight ... at the request of the government and in light of the hour we have agreed to postpone the arraignment until tomorrow morning," William Taylor, his lawyer, told reporters outside Manhattan Criminal Court on Sunday.

"He's tired but he's fine," Taylor said when asked about Strauss-Kahn, who was led away from a police station in handcuffs and is currently placed behind bars.



Earlier, Strauss-Kahn's lawyer, Benjamin Brafman, told the Associated Press news agency that his client would plead not guilty.

"He denies all the charges against him," Brafman said.

The IMF said on Sunday John Lipsky, who has been Strauss-Kahn's deputy, would step in as acting managing director.

Meanwhile, the maid at the New York hotel, who accused Strauss-Kahn of sexual assault, identified him in a police line-up, police said on Sunday.

Asked if police could confirm that Strauss-Kahn was identified by the alleged victim in a line-up, a New York Police Department spokesman answered: "That is correct."

Ryan Sesa, a police deputy spokesman, told reporters on Sunday that the charges against Strauss-Kahn included a "criminal sexual act, unlawful imprisonment, attempted rape" and "assaulting a 32-year-old girl in a hotel room".

Strauss-Kahn, widely tipped as a contender to run for the French presidency in 2012, was taken off an Air France flight at John F Kennedy International Airport by police officers on Saturday after the maid reported the case.

The maid earlier told authorities that she entered Strauss-Kahn's room at the Sofitel near Manhattan's Times Square at about 1pm local time (1600 GMT) on Saturday.

According to her account, the IMF chief emerged from the bedroom naked, threw her down and tried to sexually assault her, Paul J Browne, a New York Police Department (NYPD) spokesman, said.

Police said Strauss-Kahn, who is married, apparently left the hotel in a hurry. They then discovered he was at the airport, and contacted the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which pulled him off the Paris-bound flight.