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Roger Singaravelu opened his heart and home to a young woman who had left her native Bangladesh to study in Melbourne. Less than 48 hours later, while napping with his five-year-old daughter, the woman plunged a knife into his neck with such force it snapped in half and embedded in his spine. Momena Shoma, 26, was jailed on Wednesday for 42 years, with a minimum of 31-and-a-half years, after admitting to engaging in a terror act on February 9, 2018. Dressed in a black Niqab showing only her eyes, Shoma did not stand for Justice Lesley Ann Taylor when she was sentenced. Shoma was in Australia on a student visa for eight days when she attacked Mr Singaravelu, her homestay host, using a 25cm kitchen knife she packed. Immediately after the attack, she told police she did it the name of terrorist organisation Islamic State and hoped Mr Singaravelu would die. Justice Taylor described Shoma's intentions as chilling and repugnant. "They have sent ripples of horror throughout the Australian community, but they do not make you a martyr. They make you an undistinguished criminal," she told the Victorian Supreme Court. "You should not mistake your passing notoriety for importance, nor equate it with achievement." Justice Taylor noted Shoma made extensive preparations before attacking Mr Singaravelu. Days earlier, she was removed from another host family's home after she stabbed their mattress between six and nine times. She also purchased night vision goggles, twice Googled "how can you tell if someone is in a deep sleep?" and watched IS propaganda videos to "excite base blood lust". Despite pleading guilty, Shoma showed no remorse. "The only regret you have uttered is that you did not succeed in taking Mr Singaravelu's life. That sentiment is despicable," Justice Taylor said. Mr Singaravelu previously told the court he suffered post-traumatic stress disorder since the stabbing, took a cocktail of medication and used alcohol to try to forget what happened to him. "I relive the attack, the look on her face and the blood splattered on the wall," Mr Singaravelu said in his victim statement. His daughter also suffers from PTSD, flashbacks and nightmares. She finds it difficult to be around him and no longer wants to hug him. "This Australian family, generous enough to open their home to a stranger, now suffers physically, emotionally and financially," Justice Taylor said. "They are, in short, devastated." Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Mr Singaravelu thanked prosecutors for getting justice. "Our lives will never return to normal. As victims of terror, we are sentenced to life having to endure the trauma Shoma has inflicted on us," he told reporters. "I still can't believe that I am alive. I should be in a wooden box or in a wheelchair after what she had done to me." Mr Singaravelu and his wife, Maha Solomon, implored the Australian government to better vet student visa applications. "We (brought) these kids into our family, opening our home and our heart, (we) feed them, clothed them, made them feel safe," Ms Solomon said. "Our trust has been betrayed." The tiny terrorist - just 1.52 metres tall and weighing 40 kilograms - was sentenced on the same day as Ihsas Khan, the Sydney university student jailed for 36 years over a stabbing attack in 2016. They are the first people to be sentenced for directly carrying out a terrorist attack in Australia. Australian Associated Press

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