A cruising couple have suffered a raid from thugs in Bocas del Toro, Panama, in which they were beaten up, bound and the wife repeatedly raped.

Yachting Monthly reader Dave Wyness and girlfriend Jennie know the couple and earlier had been anchored near them. Mr Wyness said: ‘It was nasty. I talked to the couple a couple days later, they look very beat up, and in shock, but they are alive.

‘They are in their late 50’s or early 60’s and were boarded at 1 a.m. woken at gun point, and tied up. Then the two assailants tore up their boat, ripping the cushions, spreading their clothes everywhere, drilling holes in the floor. They stole $1000, a couple of digital cameras, two laptops, a couple of cell phones, and drank a bunch of their liquor. They raped the woman a few times, stole the dinghy.

‘The police have a confirmed mugshot and identity of one of the assailants, and are asking the community to hold off on their wanted posters and rewards for a bit to let them do their work.’