New Zealander Daniel Maxwell has been handed an 18-month suspended sentence for his involvement in the fight that killed Queensland water polo player Cole Miller.
Maxwell, 22, was due to stand trial in the Brisbane Supreme Court this week for unlawful striking causing the death of the 18-year-old in January 2016 but on Thursday pleaded guilty to downgraded charges of two counts of common assault and one count of affray.
Crown prosecutor David Meredith reserved the more serious charge of unlawful striking causing death after prosecution determined they could not show Maxwell "enabled, aided or counselled" co-accused Armstrong Renata to "do what he did".
The court heard hours before the attack, Maxwell had been evicted from a club in Fortitude Valley where he had been celebrating his 21st birthday.
Maxwell had already attempted to start three fights before he and his friends walked towards Cole Miller and his friend, Nick Pace, in the Chinatown mall.
Maxwell told his friends "do you want to see something funny?" before he went up to Mr Miller and punched him in the chest.
The court heard Mr Miller showed "not one ounce of aggression" towards Maxwell, who then turned his attention to Mr Pace, punching him in the chest.
A post-mortem report and a statement from Mr Pace indicated both Mr Miller and Mr Pace did not suffer bodily harm from the punches.
The court heard it was Armstrong Renata who delivered the punch to Mr Miller, who "would not have seen it coming", Mr Meredith said.
The blow knocked the young man unconscious. He died in hospital two days later.
Both Maxwell and Renata were charged with unlawful striking causing death days later, a charge introduced by the Newman government to target one-punch deaths.
The 22-year-old had already served 19 months behind bars following the original charge and was to be placed back in custody for his sentence to be processed.
He walked free from the court on Thursday afternoon.
The court heard because Maxwell was in Australia on a visa he risked being deported to New Zealand as a result of his sentence.
While the court heard Maxwell was not physically responsible for killing Cole Miller, he did "bear a great deal of moral culpability", Justice Ann Lyons said in her sentencing remarks.
"What happened in the mall was appalling on every level," she said.
"On every level it was a cowardly act, you clearly had no respect for Mr Miller. After the incident, you left an unconscious person lying on the ground.
"You were laughing as you left, that on every level is appalling. Your lack of empathy is difficult to fathom."
Defence lawyer Callan Cassidy said his client had moved to Brisbane from Melbourne to be closer to his aunty and was "deeply remorseful" for his actions.
In August last year, Renata, 22, pleaded guilty to his charge. He was due to be sentenced in June but his case was adjourned after he was charged with two counts of serious assault in April.
Renata has been in custody since the early morning attack on Miller on January 3 last year.
-with AAP