Thai national Charan Hannarong, 40, was sentenced on Thursday for the attempted murder of his girlfriend, and will serve at least six years before he is eligible for parole and deported back to his home country.

He used a zucchini knife to stab the woman three times at a party where they worked in Peechelba because she rejected him, then stabbed himself 25 times.

Hannarong came to Australia in 2013 to earn money for his pregnant wife, but started a relationship with the victim – also a Thai national working to provide for family back home.

The couple split on November 6, 2016, after he punched the woman in the head because she wanted to remain at a party longer than him.

Judge Christopher Beale said the victim had told Hannarong on November 21 they could still be friends, but he responded with “do you want to die, maybe we can die together?”.

She tried to speak to a friend on the phone, then he approached from behind and put his hand on her neck.

“Hannarong had armed himself with a knife and stabbed (the victim) three times in the upper chest before she could take any defensive action,” Judge Beale said.

“When Hannarong attempted to stab her on a fourth occasion, (the victim) grabbed the knife.”

Friends drove them to Wangaratta Hospital and she was airlifted to the Alfred for surgery on the stab wounds and a punctured lung.

Judge Beale said the “extreme outburst of violence” was difficult to understand because Hannarong was not drunk and did not have a mental illness.

“(The victim) had good reason not to want to continue in a relationship with you after you punched her in the head,” he said.

“Men must not respond with violence when a woman chooses to end a relationship.”

The judge said Hannarong appeared remorseful and had good prospects of rehabilitation.