Waitress stabbed five times near train station over cheap mobile phone

A young waitress who survived being stabbed five times has told how she thought she was going to die over a cheap mobile phone.

Stella Trevisani, from Italy, was walking alone to a Perth train station after finishing her shift at a restaurant on Saturday night when she was confronted by her alleged attacker – a 15-year-old boy.

There was a brief struggle near the station platform to steal her mobile phone, worth about $100, but it wasn’t until Ms Trevisani looked down that she realised she had been stabbed.

"I could see like the blood springing out, so I said I'm gonna die,” she told 7 News.

Laying in a pool of blood after five stab wounds to her arms, shoulder and leg, the 27-year-old made a series of desperate screams for help.

“I yelled ‘help help’ but I was getting weaker,” she said.

Transit officers and nearby residents ran to help Ms Trevisani as her alleged attacker fled on a bicycle along Kensington Street.

He was arrested about 300 metres from where the attack took place.

Ms Trevisani has already had two surgeries but faces a lengthy rehabilitation process that is expected to keep her out of work for a few months – a prospect that left the Italian native in tears.

The teenager was meant to front court on Monday morning but proceedings were delayed after the magistrate said she wasn't prepared to have him in the courtroom because of the thumping noise he was making in the holding cell.

He eventually did face a magistrate where he insisted he wanted to plead guilty and get his punishment – but the magistrate told the teenager he needs to speak to a lawyer first.

Despite her ordeal, Ms Trevisani said Perth is still the city she wants to call home.