Australian woman attacked by Bali's serial rapist

Details of the horrific assault emerged yesterday. Photo / Getty Images

An Australian woman assaulted as a knife was held to her throat during a violent robbery in Bali is believed to be the latest victim of a serial rapist.

The 28-year-old from Perth was attacked in the early hours of Saturday morning after being woken by an intruder who had entered her room at Villa Damais in Kerobokan where she was staying with family.

Details of the horrific assault emerged on Monday with the woman telling police she was first forced to open a safe in her room, before being raped while a knife was held to her throat.

The attack occurred as seven other members of her family, including children, slept in rooms inside the rented villa on the popular holiday island.

"The victim was then threatened with knife by the perpetrator,'' a spokesman with the North Kuta police, Reinhard Habonaran Nainggolan, told AAP.

"His right hand held the knife while his left hand held a flashlight.

"She was under threat of knife that she could not make a sound."

The woman was treated at a local hospital and returned to Perth with her family on Sunday.

Police said that the woman's description of her attacker matches that of a man believed to have carried out previous rapes.

A number of people were involved in the robbery.

"They entered the villa by jumping on to the wall," Mr Reinhard said.

Three iPads, two mobile phones and about A$150 in cash were stolen.

It is the latest in a spate of violent incidents in an area of Bali popular with tourists, especially Australians.

In March, Mercedes Corby was bashed by a gang in Kuta as she returned home from a party.

The older sister of convicted drug smuggler Schapelle Corby needed minor surgery after suffering a broken nose and bleeding to the cornea during the assault.

In January, a West Australian man was stabbed multiple times in the back while fighting off armed robbers at his Bali villa.

Bali's Governor Made Pastika said at the time he was concerned that the island's image as a holiday destination was being tainted.

- AAP