A JEALOUS student kicked his pregnant girlfriend in the stomach during a campaign of intimidation and control.

Kai Yao Wang moved to Brighton to study with the young woman and attacked her repeatedly.

It included pinning her by the throat against the wall and threatening to harm her if she told anyone.

Wang took away her phone and prevent her calling for help and isolated her from friends he did not approve of.

The 21-year-old sent explicit photographs of her and an image of her pregnancy test to her father in China to “humiliate and degrade” her.

At Brighton Crown Court, it was revealed that the terrified young woman called 999 to get help while being attacked.

Wang, who was tearful in the dock, admitted coercive and controlling behaviour in an intimate relationship.

Judge Ann Arnold was told he has already served nine weeks in custody at Lewes Prison, which has been a great shock to him.

She imposed a one-year suspended sentence and ordered him to complete one-to-one sessions to address his controlling behaviour.

Kerry Moore, prosecuting, said Wang had met the woman in Sheffield in April and had moved in with her. Then they moved to Brighton in September.

The first attack happened within a week, but she felt pity for him when he begged her on his knees not to tell anyone.

Mr Moore said he was jealous of her contacting her friends and former partner if she wanted help and would also take her phone away from her to stop her calling her family.

On one occasion he pinned her against the wall and choked her.

“She truly felt he wanted to kill her,” Mr Moore said.

He was finally arrested on November 26 after an incident at his home in Ship Street, Brighton, when he found out she had used an old mobile phone chat account to speak with friends he did not approve of.

Dominic  Benthall, defending, said Wang lacked emotional maturity in his first relationship and said the spell in custody at Lewes Prison had “brought home to him how wrong his actions were”.

He said Wang was “remorseful” and apologised to his former partner, who has returned to China but hopes to come back to the UK to resume her studies.

Wang’s family flew from China to court to support him and Mr Benthall said Wang felt “shame”.

He would need to deal with his “temper control and selfish feelings”, Mr Benthall said.

Wang hopes to resume his £19,000-a-year university course.

Judge Arnold said Wang had caused “extreme upset and distress” over a “prolonged” period.

But she said a prison sentence would not provide the support he would need after his release to make sure he did not commit similar crimes.

She said a suspended sentence of one year would hang over him and ordered Wang to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, with 20 rehabilitation sessions.