A German man faces immediate deportation after being sentenced for a one-punch attack on the Gold Coast that nearly killed a man.
Maxim Wecker, 30, pleaded guilty to the assault on Matthew Smith in the early hours of October 28 at the Southport Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The court heard Wecker hit Mr Smith from behind after he tried to intervene in a fight between the German and another man in Surfers Paradise.
Mr Smith hit his head on the pavement after falling, briefly stopped breathing and had multiple seizures before he was admitted to hospital.
After spending a day on life support, Mr Smith made a full recovery and later said on Facebook Wecker "almost took a proud father from his sons".
Judge Katherine McGinness sentenced Wecker, an ex-navy serviceman in Germany, to two years' imprisonment for the crime.
With Wecker having spent approximately eight months in pre-sentence custody, his sentence was immediately suspended by Judge McGinness for two years.
It's expected Wecker, who was in Australia on a working holiday, will be now dealt with by immigration and could soon be deported.
Ms McGinness said while the force used by Wecker was "excessive, not gratuitous", she had to impose a sentence that would act as a deterrent.
"Assault in public places at night time ... is something that cannot be tolerated," she said.
Wecker's defence barrister, Laura Reece, told the court his client had lost contact with his four-year-old son while in custody and had been significantly provoked on the night in question.
She said Wecker had been called a "f***ing Nazi" by one of the men he was in an altercation with before throwing the punch that felled Mr Smith.
"All of this shows the heavy price Mr Wecker has paid for his actions," Ms Reece told the court.
Mr Wecker said "I just want to apologise to my victims" when entering his guilty plea.
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