Mother defends Kiwi men who attacked young father in Australia

Four Kiwis facing deportation from Australia for horrific bashing of father. Photo / Dailymail

The mother of one of the four Kiwi men facing deportation from Australia for the horrific bashing of a defenceless young father says it must have been a "crazy night".

Melbourne men Maele Maele, 28, his two 20-year-old nephews Apisai Maele and Leti Maele, and friend Andrew Apineru, 26, are now facing deportation back to New Zealand following their release from jail for their roles in the attack.

The four men were found guilty of the brutal attack on Kane Dulieu, who was out celebrating his 24th birthday on that day in November 2016.

The young father was punched from behind by one of the men, before the rest of the group began violently kicking and punching him while he lay unconscious on the ground.

Apisai and his with mum Amanda, who is devastated he is behind bars. Photo / Supplied

Apisai's mother Amanda told the Daily Mail Australia she is struggling to cope without her sons.

"These boys are a lovely boys and have respect for their families. It must of been a crazy night," she said.

The mother said she had prayed to stop them going to prison - and will keep praying while they are behind bars to stop their deportation.

"Praying is the only way and leaving everything in God's hands to take care of is the only thing we can do," she added.

Before her son went to jail, Amanda threw him a party to celebrate his 21st birthday
a little earlier, "in case anything happened to him".

The horrific bashing was a consequence of a case of mistaken identity.

The men wrongly believed Duliue had damaged a car, according to the Herald Sun.

Footage of the attack that occurred in the early hours of November 18 outside a bar in Melbourne's CBD shows Dulieu walking along the footpath before a man delivers a brutal and unprovoked coward punch to the young father.

He falls heavily to the ground, before the group of four thugs start punching and kicking his unconscious body.

A friend is also seen running to help the defenceless Dulieu but he too was hit by one of the attackers, sending him to the ground.

Dulieu was rushed to hospital where he was placed in a coma.

A judge later described the attack as "savage and cowardly" and "without any justification whatsoever".

Days later Dulieu emerged from his coma. He told the Herald Sun he's lucky he survived the brutal attack.

"This could have ended so differently and my son would have had to grow up without a dad," he said.

"That's what makes me angry."

Apineru, who delivered the coward punch to Dulieu, was the victim of a similar attack in Auckland, back in 2013.

The Melbourne County Court heard he suffered a brain injury as a result, and that played a part in his terrible decision-making in attacking the Melbourne father.

He was sentenced to three-and-a-half years behind bars, but will be eligible for parole in two years and three months.

Maele Maele, who has a licence to work as a security guard, was jailed for four and a half years for instigating the fight. The judge said he should have known better, but instead "inflamed" the situation.

His two nephews were sentenced to two years and nine months behind bars.

The judge described their attack as "savage and cowardly" and "without any justification whatsoever".