Qld torture sentence appeal fails

Queensland's attorney-general has been unsuccessful in an attempt to appeal the "inadequate" sentences of four men responsible for a horrific seven-hour torture session on the Gold Coast.

Dean Russell Knox, Zane Ian Potts, Jayden Tyrone Peters and Christopher Samuel Goulding were sentenced to six years' jail for the 2014 attack.

Their victim was painted blue, made to drink urine, burned with cigarettes, had jumper leads attached to his nipples, a plastic bag placed over his head and was repeatedly struck with a hammer.

The group also stretched his genitals by attaching a rope, stomped on his head, and punched and kicked him during the humiliating ordeal.

At one point, Potts arrived at a house where the victim was being held and declared: "I love violence, we're going to have fun with you."

Queensland Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath appealed all of the sentences on the grounds they were manifestly inadequate.

The men should have been declared serious violent offenders, Michael Byrne QC for the attorney-general said.

The court originally found the group was "equally responsible for what occurred, contributing in different ways".

But the Court of Appeal on Tuesday noted Goulding was "not an active participant in the egregious aspects of the infliction of torture on the complainant".

"His role was one of an encourager and observer," Justice Robert Gotterson said in a written judgment after considering an application by Goulding's own legal team.

Goulding's sentence was reduced from six to five years.

The court also dismissed the attorney-general's appeals in the matters of all of the men.