Cairo - A court in Egypt on Thursday confirmed the death sentence for property tycoon Hisham Talaat Mustafa for the murder of Lebanese pop singer Suzanne Tamim.

The court had earlier found that Mustafa had paid Mohsen al- Sukkari, a former Egyptian security officer, to murder the singer in her apartment in Dubai last July.

On May 21, the two men were sentenced to death by hanging, with the sentence referred to Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa for confirmation. The court on Thursday said he had approved the decision.

Mustafa was a member of the Shura Council, the upper house of Egypt's parliament, representing the ruling National Democratic Party, and was widely reputed to have been a close associate of President Hosny Mubarak and his son. (dpa0