A Wollongong man has been jailed for at least 12 months for twice stabbing a former flatmate who refused to leave his unit.
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Trinh Quoc Hao, who also goes by the name Jason Trinh, told police he thought knifing the woman would be the only way she would "get the message" that he wanted her gone, saying he was sick of her always eating his food and inviting her friends to his unit.
He pleaded guilty in Port Kembla Local Court last year to a charge of reckless wounding and faced sentencing in the District Court on Friday.
Defence lawyer Laura Fennell presented a psychologist's report outlining Hao's significant mental health problems, as well as his troubles with illicit drug use.
She said Hao and the victim in the matter had not been in a relationship, instead Hao had opened his home to the woman when she had nowhere else to live.
Documents before the court said on the day of the incident the pair got into an argument, prompting the victim to walk towards the front door intending to leave the unit.
Moments later, she heard Hao yell, "I'll f---ing kill ya, I'll f----ing kill ya" before he got up and grabbed a knife from the kitchen and lunged towards her.
The woman picked up a chair beside her and threw it towards Hao to try to stop him coming any closer.
As she left the unit, she noticed blood coming from her left elbow and asked a neighbour to call emergency services.
The woman was taken to Wollongong Hospital and treated for cuts to her elbow and on the left side of her chest.
Judge Paul Conlon said it was appropriate that Hao receive a jail sentence for his crime, labelling it an "unprovoked attack".
However, he also acknowledged Hao's lack of a criminal record, as well as his abusive upbringing as mitigating factors in determining the right punishment.
With time already served, Hao will be eligible for release from jail in May.