Bahama Hut nightclub stabber was deportee from Australia

Rocky Ronaki, 31, was jailed in the Tauranga District Court today, after stabbing a patron at Bahama Hut bar. Photo / File

An Aucklander who stabbed a man with a knife in a Tauranga nightclub had been recently deported back to New Zealand from Australia.

Rocky Ronaki, 31, was sentenced to six years jail in the Tauranga District Court today after being found guilty of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm following a jury trial in October.

The jury found Ronaki intentionally used a knife to stab fellow club patron Logan Abbott inside the smoking area of Bahama Hut during a brief violent scuffle on October 1, 2017.

Abbott was stabbed in the abdomen just below his ribs and he was treated at Tauranga Hospital for a laceration to his liver but made a full recovery, the court heard.

Ronaki claimed he only brandished the knife at Abbott to protect his brother Kiore Ronaki, 29, and sister-in-law who were under threat, and did not intend to hurt anyone.

The court heard today that the stabbing happened a short time after Ronaki was deported to New Zealand from Australia, when he had a criminal record.

Kiore Ronaki was found guilty of a charge of assault with intent to injure after a female patron was knocked unconscious by at least two blows at the same jury trial.

He was sentenced to 18-months' prison and released back into the community almost immediately due to the time he spent in custody awaiting his trial in October 2018.