Five jailed for brutal 'hit'

Bryan Johnson before the attack. He has left the country. Photo / Supplied

Five men have been jailed for a brutal attack on the owner of an Auckland kebab store - organised by an employee who wanted to take over his business.

Bryan Johnson was ambushed after worker Tania Aziz hired a hitman to have him put in hospital. She wanted to move in on the business while he was recovering.

This month, Vailua Luatua, Vincent Suifua, Augustus Ah-Chong, Kain Shaw and Kunal Reddy were sentenced for their roles in the attack.

Aziz was last year jailed for seven years for paying Luatua $3000 to carry it out.

A detective described the "horrific" assault as among the worst he'd seen.

There were almost no intact bones in Johnson's face and surgeons spent 16 hours on reconstruction.

He has ongoing treatment for brain injury, reduced vision in one eye and lost his senses of taste and smell.

Johnson was ambushed by Suifua and Ah-Chong while closing up All Go Kebabs in Glenfield just after 10pm on August 28, 2008.

Luatua initially acted as lookout, standing in front of the liquor store opposite the shop.

Johnson was punched to the ground then dragged back to his store. While he was unconscious, Luatua joined in the attack, kicking and stomping him and hitting him in the head with a tyre iron.

Cash, a satchel and surveillance footage were stolen to make it look like a robbery.

Johnson was left bleeding profusely until Shaw - who was also acting as lookout - ran to his side with towels to mop up the bleeding and called an ambulance.

Shortly after the attack, Shaw said he was haunted by the sight of Johnson's crushed face. He said when he held a towel to it the shattered bones caved in.

Reddy was arrested for knowing of the plot but failing to report it to authorities. In sentencing the men, Justice Helen Winkelmann said it was "a matter of chance or good fortune" that Johnson survived.

The trauma of the attack had led to the breakdown of Johnson's marriage. He is now in Australia with his mother.

His estranged wife Sahabeh Tahmasebi said this week her family had not been notified of the sentencing and she was disappointed she could not attend.

The attack had a "horrible" and "heartbreaking" effect on their lives, she said.

Winkelmann noted the offenders threw away promising futures by acting on Aziz's "wicked" plot.

Suifua, Luatua and Ah-Chong were all sentenced for causing grievous bodily harm and aggravated assault.

Suifa got eight years, Luatua eight years and six months and Ah-Chong seven years and six months.

Shaw was sentenced to three years for causing grievous bodily harm and Reddy to eight months for being an accessory.

Police said last week that a charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice laid against Aziz had been withdrawn because of lack of evidence.

Witnesses claimed Aziz had, from prison, ordered associates to intimidate them. Speaking at the time, one described menacing men lurking in the bushes around his home.