KEY POINTS:
A man who attacked another man, leaving him so badly injured he had to learn how to walk and talk again, has had his appeal against his sentence rejected.
Herbert Henry Charles Thomson was jailed for eight years and nine months in October last year for grievous bodily harm.
An earlier charge of attempted murder was dropped.
The Court of Appeal said that on March 25 2006, Thomson and associate Vernon Stenning attacked John Wahia in Rotorua, hitting him with a baseball bat, and punching and kicking him.
The duo had decided to give him a "hiding" for allegedly assaulting Stenning's cousin.
Mr Wahia was left with serious injuries, spending three weeks in hospital and six months at a rehabilitation centre.
The Appeal judges noted he had to learn how to walk, talk, read, write and spell again and had to give up his job as a qualified butcher.
In his victim impact statement he said it was like "starting out life again".
Thomson's lawyer argued his client should have had one year taken off his sentence because he had played a lesser role in the offending - he had not used the baseball bat.
However, the Court of Appeal said both men had set off with a common purpose and Thomson knew what the baseball bat would be used for.
Stenning was also jailed for eight years and nine months.
- NZPA
