Trio beat pizza man, flee in his car

A pizza delivery man has been viciously assaulted in an attack similar to the fatal assault on Michael Choy in 2001.

The 51-year-old was delivering a pizza to a house in Solveig Place in the Manukau City suburb of Manurewa at 9.15pm on Tuesday when the occupant warned him about three drunk men at the end of the driveway.

The pizza man returned to his car and reversed down the drive slowly.

"When he reached the end of the driveway, one of the males approached the driver's door," Detective Sergeant Shane Vickers said.

"The victim struggled to lock the door and the male then opened it and dragged him out of the car.

"The victim was thrown to the ground. All three males have then kicked and punched him in his head and upper body.

"The victim may have lost consciousness at this stage, as he did not see where the males went."

Mr Vickers said the attackers stole the man's car and a small amount of money. An occupant of the house rang the police and helped the injured man.

"The victim collapsed and was taken to hospital," Mr Vickers said. He was discharged yesterday morning.

Senior Sergeant Richard Wilkie said the pizza man had been traumatised by the beating. "These are the kind of cases that can turn fatal ... It was an unprovoked, unwarranted attack on a person doing their service to the community by delivering food."

Mr Wilkie said there was a possibility the attackers were uninvited guests to the house.

The three attackers were between 17 and 20. Two were Pacific Islanders and one was Maori.

Mr Wilkie said the beating differed from the attack on Michael Choy because it was opportunistic, not planned. "There is no indication that there is as much preparation as the Choy case."

Six people were convicted of a variety of offences, including murder, for the 2001 killing. One of them was Bailey Junior Kurariki.