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Police have made an arrest following the discovery of a man's body in a south Auckland carpark.
The Polynesian man's body was found at around four o'clock Sunday morning in the Otara Town Centre carpark and it is thought he has been involved in a fight shortly beforehand.
Detective Senior Sergeant Pete Jones says they have arrested and charged a 33-year-old man with assault.
He says results from a post mortem examination are due back on Sunday and may result in further charges being laid.
Jones says the man will appear in the Manukau District Court on Sunday morning.
The dead man has not yet been identified and police are encouraging anyone with information to come forward.
Jones says the medium to heavily built Polynesian man is in his late 20s or 30s and has facial hair but not a full beard.
Police say the man may not have started the fight that led to his death.
"From what we know at this early stage, it doesn't appear he started the fight," says Jones.
"But ... we are still seeking witnesses because we only know a very small part of it and there may well be a lot more to the story than we currently know."
He says there are several possibilities, including one where an alcohol-fuelled fight developed, punches were thrown and the man fell and hit his head.
"It is not uncommon," Jones says.
Jones says a weapon has not been found and for most of the day police examined the area, including rubbish skips in the parking area.
The area is well known to police because of fights and disturbances and several residents and shopkeepers say they often fear for their safety.
This is particularly so after bars and bottle stores close and drunken people use the area as a meeting place.
One shopkeeper says there are often fights between different Polynesian groups and a lot of yelling late at night.
The area was cordoned off and the victim's body lay where it was found for about nine hours before it was taken away.
