A MAN stabbed his flatmate in the chest after making him a cup of tea in an entirely unprovoked attack.

Erfan Kamber, 38, assaulted Asif Ali with a kitchen knife at the home they shared in Newport after wrongly suspecting him of being in contact with his wife.

He followed up the knife attack by placing him in a headlock, repeatedly punching him and telling he was going to leave him to die.

Hannah Friedman, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court: “The victim describes at first he thought he'd been punched and didn't realise that it was a knife.

“He then saw that the T-shirt he was wearing had been ripped and that he was covered in blood.

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“The defendant was accusing the victim about something to do with a phone call he’d had with the defendant's wife.

“He said he would not let the victim leave the flat and that he would leave him to die.”

Mr Ali was treated for a 3cmx3cm wound at the Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital following the attack on the morning of Wednesday, September 27 last year.

In a victim impact statement the self-employed mechanic revealed he had money worries as a result of having to take time off work because of his injury.

He also spoke of suffering from stress and had experienced a loss of appetite.

Kamber, of Drovers Mews, pleaded guilty to wounding with intent.

He has 16 previous convictions for 20 offences.

These include possession of a knife in public and assaulting an emergency worker.

John Ryan representing the defendant said his client had undertaken a number of courses while being held in custody on remand.

These included the following: managing aggression, victim awareness, substance awareness, alcohol awareness, challenging thinking and managing stress and anxiety.

Judge Shomon Khan told Kamber: “It was an entirely unprovoked stabbing.

“It would have been terrifying for him – he thinks he's coming into the kitchen for a cup of tea.

“What triggered your behaviour is frankly inexplicable and extremely concerning.”

The defendant was jailed for three years and four months and told he would serve half of that in custody before being released on licence.

He was made the subject of a five-year restraining order and ordered to pay a £228 victim surcharge.