A man jailed for two years and four months for an attack on his former partner's new lover has appealed, asking for home detention instead.
Stephen Brent Tozer, a 50-year-old businessman from Rakaia, pleaded guilty to charges of kidnapping and injuring with intent to injure last December in the Christchurch District Court.
He was given a two years four months term, after a six-month deduction for his guilty plea, five months for his offer to pay reparation, and three months for time spent on 24-hour curfew.
Defence counsel Simon Shamy told the Court of Appeal home detention should have been granted and the sentencing starting point should have been three years instead of three years six months.
Mr Shamy said there was "very little violence" during the offence, and the duration of the kidnapping was short.
"It wasn't at the upper end of the scale in terms of kidnapping."
He asked the court to consider that Tozer had expressed remorse, paid reparation, and plead guilty. And the offence was "unlikely to happen again."
Justice Susan Glazebook said to her it was a "very serious kidnapping," and Tozer had received credit during sentencing.
The crown said home detention was not appropriate.
Tozer was charged over after an incident at Windwhistle, central Canterbury on July 2007. A week earlier, Tozer's partner had told him their relationship was over and moved out of their shared accommodation.
She had begun a new relationship with the victim, a 28-year-old farm labourer.
On the day the offence took place, they had travelled to a secluded cottage for a weekend break.
Tozer spent the day tracking them down before kicking down the door of the property and beating the victim repeatedly on the head with a bat.
His partner escaped to a nearby property, where she telephoned the police.
At the end of the attack Tozer told the victim hired hitmen had surrounded the building and if he did not comply he would be shot. Tozer was arrested after a police chase, while driving the victim's car.
On his arrest, Tozer ordered his victim out of the car, shook his hand and proclaimed to officers, "no problems, it's all been sorted".
Judge Michael Crosbie, who sentenced Tozer, described the attack as "ferocious" and "an extremely violent, drawn out act." He told Tozer "I find it difficult to accept you have any remorse. There were a myriad of ways you could have dealt with the issues you had.
"The victim impact report tells me that during the two years since the attack he has suffered from depression and alcoholism. This was an event that had a profound effect on him."