Man found dead in North Shore disorder incident owned popular Guangzhou Hotpot restaurant chain

The man found dead outside a North Shore apartment following a disorder incident was the owner of popular Chinese restaurant Guangzhou Hotpot, which has outlets in the city and Newmarket.

Police, who said the death is being treated as unexplained, have named the man as Qiang Xin, 31. Friends know him as Key.

His body was found outside an apartment in the 56-unit Chelsea Bay Residences on Rawene Rd in Birkenhead at about 4.30am on October 7.

A friend, who did not want to be named, said he was "shocked for days" following Xin's death, as Xin had been looking forward to life with his new partner.

Qiang Xin (extreme left) loved snowboarding and had been on a trip with friends to Queenstown last September. Photo / Supplied

Xin, originally from southern China, has a child from a previous marriage and had quite recently entered into a new relationship, the friend said.

"Key likes to keep a low profile and does not have much of a social media presence. He doesn't use Facebook, and only uses his company's Wechat account to communicate with friends," the friend said.

He loved golf and snowboarding, and his last holiday had been on a snowboarding trip to Queenstown with friends last September.

"There's been a lot of speculation about what happened to him, so we are all really hoping that police will find the answers," the friend said.

Qiang Xin was the director of the popular Guangzhou Hotpot restaurants. Photo / Supplied

Xin's business partner Harry Cai said he was helping with the funeral arrangements but was waiting for instructions from Xin's mother in China.

The mother is in the process of applying for a border exemption to come to New Zealand for the funeral, he said.

A police spokeswoman said police have been liaising with next of kin in New Zealand.

"We are also aware that the deceased has family in China and the Chinese Consulate was advised by police of the death," the spokeswoman said.

Police said a number of people have been spoken to as part of their inquiries.

"Following the post-mortem the cause of death is still indeterminable and the matter will be referred to the Coroner," police said.

An ambulance seen leaving Chelsea Bay Residences on the night of the incident. Photo / Hayden Woodward

The death followed a "disorder incident" in a 56-unit apartment complex located on Auckland's North Shore.

Police said the man's death is being treated as unexplained following the post-mortem examination.

Police are still awaiting the results of forensic analysis, which was expected to take some time.

A Chelsea Bay resident, who didn't want to be named, did not know the man but said he heard "shouting and things crashing" on the day of the incident.

"The folks in that household kept to themselves and did not really mix around much," the man said.

Police had told residents they were not looking for anyone else, the man said.

"We were told it's a domestic incident, so it's not like there's a killer on the prowl," he said.