The manager of a Tonbridge nail bar pleaded with her ex-husband to "think of their children" after claiming he tried to strangle her.

Lien Dinh told a jury how she pleaded with Thuan Dinh not to leave their two children without a mother during the attack in her Tonbridge salon.

The 52-year-old has been accused of carrying out a 'terrifying and brutal' murder bid in March last year, just a day after he had been given a restraining order.

Magistrates had banned him from contacting his 49-year-old ex-wife after hearing of a violent row in August 2019 in which he had forced his thumbs into her eyes causing them to bleed and threatened to kill her.

Maidstone Crown Court heard how within hours of imposing the order, Dinh is alleged to have lay in wait for Ms Dinh at the VCC Boutique salon she ran in the High Street.

Dinh, of Rowan Mews, Tonbridge, denies attempted murder.

When she arrived it is claimed he locked her in before allegedly trying to strangle her with a piece of rope.

She said he then gouged her eyes with his thumbs and stabbed her through the neck, damaging muscle and her jugular vein.

The court heard Dinh had also gone to the nail business with a carrier bag containing a petrol-filled bottle and four butane gas cylinders.

Speaking through a Vietnamese interpreter, Ms Dinh told the jury how her ex-husband had confronted her just after 9am on March 11 last year.

She heard footsteps and turned to see an angry Dinh holding a length of rope up between his two hands before putting it to her neck.

MsDinh said she managed to pull it away and hold on to it, only to then have her eyes gouged, describing the pressure as 'extremely hard'.

"I pleaded to him to let go. I asked him to think about the children. I said I didn't want my children to be without a mum."

She told the jury she had immediately shouted for help and tried to run away, but her ex then grabbed her by her hair.

Ms Dinh fell to the floor where she said her ex-husband covered her nose and mouth and started to squeeze.

She said: "It was extremely hard but I pulled his hands away. I said to him to let bygones be bygones and we could restart.

"In that moment I just thought I had to protect and rescue myself, hence I said that to him.

"I pleaded to him to let go. I asked him to think about the children. I said I didn't want my children to be without a mum."

She continued: "At that point he kissed me. He said he loved me very much and didn't want to lose me. He tilted my head, bent down and kissed me lightly on my lips."

Ms Dinh said she was then allowed back on her feet but that Dinh became angry again when she refused to hand over the rope.

The court heard he pushed her against a wall and began strangling her, leaving her fighting for breath.

"My breathing nearly stopped. He strangled my neck tightly but I thought of my children and managed to regain my strength and prise his hands away from me, " she said.

The attack continued, however, with Dinh fetching a fruit knife from a nearby shelf and allegedly plunging it into her neck.

"There was blood on my face which made it slippery and that's why he could not gouge my eyes hard. I just asked for help. I was hoping the staff would come in in time to help me."

Ms Dinh continued: "He said he was going to get the knife to slit my throat. In that moment I was very scared and (in) panic."

At one point Ms Dinh had grabbed the blade and even tried to bite her ex-husband, the court heard.

She told the court she lost consciousness and came around to find herself face down on the floor with the knife in her hand and her attacker trying to gouge out her eyes.

"The only thing I could do was put my face against the floor to protect my eyes. My two hands were restrained by his legs.

"There was blood on my face which made it slippery and that's why he could not gouge my eyes hard. I just asked for help. I was hoping the staff would come in in time to help me."

Her ordeal did eventually end when an employee arrived at the salon to see the blood and Dinh sat on top of his ex-wife.

She alerted passers-by who pulled Dinh away and restrained him until police arrived.

The case has been hit by numerous delays, including technology problems that meant a plea hearing in April last year had to be adjourned.

Then in November, the original trial had to be halted due to Covid and the jury was dismissed.

The latest trial continues.

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