KITCHENER — The father of a man convicted of attempted murder travelled from China to take the stand at his son's sentencing hearing.

"Yiyan made a serious mistake," Shaobei Xie told Kitchener court through a Mandarin interpreter on Tuesday.

"As parents, we are responsible. We neglected his social development. After he left the country, we didn't give him enough attention and care."

Yiyan Xie, 21, was convicted in July of trying to kill his ex-girlfriend, Yiyang Hao, a University of Waterloo student. He was also convicted of criminal harassment for months of threatening emails that led up to the attack.

On Sept. 23, 2013, Xie lay in wait for 21-year-old Hao, dragged her into a wooded area near her residence on Quiet Place in Waterloo and cut her neck with a paring knife.

When he lost the knife, he went to his car to get another one and tried to kill himself. Hao wasn't seriously injured. She needed four stitches to close the wound.

Xie left China in 2009 to live with his aunt in Toronto, defence lawyer Hal Mattson told the day-long sentencing hearing. He did not have a close relationship with her.

Hao was the only person in Canada he felt close to. Xie and Hao had come together from China to attend high school in Toronto and went on to university there before Hao transferred to UW, in part to escape the relationship.

Mattson said there are mitigating factors in this case.

He said Xie was raised in China by his grandmother. His entire life was school, Mattson said, and he did not learn social skills.

"The complete focus was on academic success. There was absolutely nothing (he) had to do except school."

Mattson suggested Xie was unprepared for life in Canada and felt isolated.

"He had no emotional support, he had no one to turn to. He became more and more reliant on (Hao). He just spiralled out of control … and he felt he had no place to turn."

When Hao ended the relationship, Xie was devastated, Mattson said.

Xie, a slim man wearing glasses, a hoodie and handcuffs, took the stand briefly on Monday.

"I just want to apologize and say sorry to the victim for the injuries and damage I caused," said Xie, who has a scar on his neck from his suicide attempt.

Hao did not submit a victim impact statement. She did not want to "revisit" the crime, prosecutor Melanie Sopinka said.

Sopinka said Xie hatched a plan to kill Hao. He bought a knife, rented a car, drove from Toronto, parked on her street and waited for her to leave her house to catch a bus.

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The prosecutor told Justice Gary Hearn it was only "by chance" that Xie's plan to kill Hao failed.

Sopinka said women should be able to break off a relationship without fearing for their life.

Mattson said it's wrong to "pigeonhole" this case as domestic violence.

"These people never lived together," he said, adding they did not have a sexual relationship.

Mattson said Xie showed the "ultimate remorse" by trying to kill himself. Sopinka argued the suicide attempt could have been Xie's way to avoid being held responsible for trying to kill Hao.

Mattson said Xie had an "epiphany" after losing the first knife. He decided not to kill her and, in fact, applied pressure to her wound.

"She was not left to die," Mattson said.

Sopinka said an attempted murder conviction often brings 12 years in prison. She asked for nine to 12 years, minus 18 months credit for pretrial custody.

Mattson wants two years less a day.

"I beg your honour, please give Yiyan a chance," Xie's father told Hearn.

Xie, who faces deportation when he leaves jail, will be sentenced on Dec. 3.

"This is a difficult sentencing and I want to give it some thought," Hearn said.