Warning: graphic content. A man was doused with boiling water in the staff cafeteria of the Turners and Growers pack house in Whakatu, near Hastings, in July, 2015.

Kian-wee Show blew the steam off his coffee in a crowded cafeteria before calmly filling a bucket with boiling water and emptying it over the head of a workmate.

Why? Show was upset that the colleague had taken a half-eaten hot dog from Show's girlfriend's plate at lunch the previous day.

In CCTV footage of the incident Show can be seen returning to his table and resuming his lunch with colleagues as his victim Bin Wu runs from the cafeteria to a first aid room.

Supplied The moment Kian-wee Show poured a bucket of boiling water over the head and back of his co-worker Bin Wu.

The incident occurred in the staff cafeteria of the Turners and Growers pack house in Whakatu, near Hastings, on the morning of July 25 last year.

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Wu, a Chinese national in New Zealand on a work visa, suffered second degree burns to his back, neck and head.

Kian-wee Show is hit with a bucket by a witness to his attack on colleague Bin Wu.

Show, 28, a Malaysian national on a work visa, pleaded guilty to a charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. He was sentenced in Napier District Court on Tuesday.

Judge Geoff Rea sentenced Show to five years and seven months in jail.

Speaking outside court, Wu said he was pleased with the sentence.

JOHN COWPLAND/STUFF It will take years for Bin Wu to recover from his burns.

He said the pain was excruciating.

"I don't even know this guy. The day before there had been a sliced sausage in the cafeteria. I had taken the last slice.

"I didn't think anyone had taken that seriously. Not me, none of the other workers... I really don't know what's happening in this guy's mind," he said.

Supplied Burn injuries to Bin Wu caused when Kian-wee Show poured a bucket of boiling water over his head and back.

Wu said he had worked with Show for about a month and "our only relationship was where we said 'hi' or 'good morning'".

Wu stayed in Hutt Valley Hospital for a week after the incident and did not return to work until the end of September, but was only able to work four hours a day.

"My employer Turners and Growers didn't rush me. They were very good to me," he said.

Supplied Burn injuries to Bin Wu caused when Kian-wee Show poured a bucket of boiling water over his head and back.

"The recovery will take a long time. Right now I still have nasty, very dark red scar tissue. According to my therapist it may look OK in two years, but it will never recover to how it was.

"It still hurts sometimes, but I don't take painkillers anymore," Wu said.

In the video footage Show can be seen sitting at a table in the full cafeteria eating lunch with associates.

Supplied Burn injuries to Bin Wu caused when Kian-wee Show poured a bucket of boiling water over his head and back.

Wu is seated at a table about five metres away, with his back towards Show.

Show walks towards a coffee dispensing machine, picks up a bucket and walks to a wall-mounted hot water dispenser. He pours about two litres of boiling water into the bucket, then calmly carries the bucket toward Wu and pours it over his head and back.

Wu jumps up immediately, steam rising from his back, and Show begins shouting at him.

As Wu runs from the room a female kitchen worker approaches Show, takes the bucket from him and hits him across the head with it.

Show then calmly walks back to his table and resumes eating his lunch.

Show's lawyer Leo Lafferty said Show had behaved "bizarrely" and "violently", but had no previous convictions and had been a law-abiding citizen in Malaysia.

Show had been experiencing stress and his behaviour was "entirely out of order", Lafferty said.

Crown lawyer Steve Manning said there was a high level of premeditation and the provocation was nothing more than the removal of a half-eaten hot dog the previous day.

"There was nothing spontaneous about the defendant's actions," Manning said.

He said the nature of the attack was "chilling" and Show had calmly and deliberately imposed extreme pain on his victim.

The judge said a lot of people suffered stress and did not pour boiling water over others.

He said Show's use of boiling water amounted to extreme violence and there was clear premeditation.

The judge said the attack was provoked by "a very petty incident indeed".

"Apparently the day before the defendant had become upset because the complainant had taken the remains of a hot dog on his girlfriend's plate and consumed it," the judge said.

"This was something the defendant clearly planned. He waited until he could get the boiling water without being interfered with."

Show, who had an interpreter to assist him, arrived at court with a day bag and listened attentively as the judge spoke, before silently walking into custody.

Turners and Growers spokeswoman Kylie Horomia said she was pleased the matter had gone to court.

"Our biggest concern was for Bin. We wanted to ensure he had all the support he needed," she said.