Cairo - Egypt's criminal court postponed on Saturday a hearing in the murder charges against business tycoon and lawmaker Hisham Talaat Moustafa to mid-November to allow for further investigations into the case.

Moustafa is accused in the murder of Lebanese singer Suzane Tamim.

A former chairman of Egypt's largest publicly traded real estate company and a member of the Shura Council, the upper house of parliament, Moustafa was arrested on September 2 and charged with ordering and paying for the killing.

Moustafa is accused of paying former police officer Mohsen al- Sokary two million US dollars to kill Tamim at her flat in Dubai.

Tamim, 30, was found dead in her flat on July 28. She was stabbed several times in the face and body with a knife.

Moustafa and Sukary were both behind bars during the court proceedings. Moustafa denied his involvement in Tamim's murder.

"I swear with god's name I didn't kill her. My hands are clean from her blood," Sukary shouted from behind the bars.

The Talaat Moustafa Group (TMG) is one of Egypt's biggest companies. The group combines a total of 23 companies with a workforce of more than 10,000 people.

After Moustafa's arrest TMG shares plunged in the Egyptian stock market.

Tamim rose to fame after winning a Lebanese talent show in 1996. The singer's troubled personal life outshone her singing career. Her second marriage to a Lebanese producer, Adel Maatouk, was marked by several public disputes.

Maatouk accused Tamim of stealing 350,000 US dollars from him. Egyptian Interpol has questioned her in the matter after she left Lebanon to come and live in Egypt, according to local newspapers.

Maatouk claimed that he was married to her at the time of her death. During the trial he demanded a compensation of 100,000 US dollars for Tamim's murder. (dpa)