Auckland restaurateur Qiang Xin's unexplained death: Curses, threats heard in man's final moments

Qiang Xin (far left) tried calling his friends multiple times before his death. Photo / Supplied

Restaurateur Qiang Xin made more than a dozen calls to some of his closest friends in what was believed to be the last half hour of his life.

On one voicemail message, received by a friend from Xin's phone number at 4.28am, a woman and a man can be heard cursing and threatening Xin and another woman pleading for them to calm down.

"I beg you to calm down," a woman's voice is heard saying in Mandarin.

A male voice said in response: "How can I be calm? Huh, is he calm?"

Police said this voice recording and others have formed part of the investigation into the death of Xin.

The 31-year-old businessman was found dead outside an apartment in the 56-unit Chelsea Bay residences on Rawene Rd in Birkenhead on Auckland's North Shore just after 4.30am on October 7.

Ambulance seen leaving Chelsea Bay Residences on October 7. Photo / Hayden Woodward

Police say the death is being treated as unexplained after a post-mortem and they are awaiting the results of forensic analysis.

Known to friends as Key, Xin was the owner of a popular Chinese hotpot chain of restaurants called Lao Guangzhou which had outlets on Beach Rd in the central city and Newmarket.

"Police received multiple phone recordings which formed part of the investigation," a police spokesman said.

In the lead-up to his death, Xin was having a dinner party in his apartment with his girlfriend and some friends - which police said appeared to have been in breach of Covid-19 alert level 3 rules.

"We are aware that the small dinner party appeared to have been held in alert level 3 against the regulations in place at the time," the spokesman said.

"However, it's important to recognise that this has been a harrowing and traumatic event for those people present and the focus for police has been to investigate Mr Xin's death and no enforcement action has been considered."

Qiang Xin was the owner of the Lao Guangzhou hot pot chain. Photo / Supplied

The Herald understands there were at least four people at that dinner party: Xin, his girlfriend and another Chinese couple.

"Those present at the address at the time of Mr Xin's death have all been spoken to and the mobile phones of the relevant parties have all been examined as part of the investigation, including the phone belonging to the deceased," the police spokesman said.

On the day before he died, Xin had been out playing golf at Waitākere Golf Club with a few of his closest friends.

Xin was driving his Mercedes GLE 400, which he had just bought a few months ago, and talked excitedly about his new house in Orewa, which he was supposed to pay the deposit for the next day.

"Everything in his life was looking good, from business to personal, and Key appeared so happy that day," one of the friends, who did not want to be named, told the Herald.

"We play golf three to four times every week, and if we were not in level 3 we would have gone out for dinner and drinks at a restaurant as we normally did."

Qiang Xin (far left) tried calling his friends multiple times before his death. Photo / Supplied

After they finished the game the friend said farewell to Xin, not knowing it would be the last time he would see him alive.

The next morning, he woke up to six missed calls from Xin's mobile number made between 4.11am and 4.33am.

"I tried calling back, but his phone was switched off. I thought he was tired and sleeping, and didn't think much of it," the friend said.

He found out later that morning from another friend that a body, believed to be Xin's, had been found at Chelsea Bay Residences.

"I just went blank, didn't know what to do. I blamed myself, maybe if I had answered Key's call, he wouldn't be dead," he said.

"When I got into my car to drive, I just didn't know what direction to head. Few times, I stopped at the side of the road and broke down."

Xin's 24-year-old girlfriend did not respond to the Herald's request for an interview.

Originally from Dandong, a coastal city in southeastern Liaoning province, Xin came to New Zealand as a teenager to study English at a language school.

Another friend described him as a "simple man" who loved golf, snowboarding and badminton - but most of all, his 4-year-old child from a previous marriage.

"No matter how busy, he would make sure he has time every weekend to see his child," the friend said.

He said Xin had a tough childhood, and was raised by his mother after his father died.

"Key did not go to university, but he was very intelligent and a sharp businessman. From tough beginnings, he has made a life for himself in New Zealand," the friend said.

"He was also very sociable, and a very loyal friend. My heart breaks to think that his child has lost a dad and Key's mother has lost her only son."

He said friends were struggling to understand how Key died and hoped the police investigations would provide some answers.

"A group of friends were eating and drinking, one of them died. How can a death like that be described as unexplained?" he asked.

A spokesman from the Chinese Consulate confirmed it was advised of Xin's death by police and was assisting in the process to get Xin's mother to New Zealand.

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 death followed a "disorder incident" in the North Shore apartment complex, police said. Residents were told police were not looking for anyone else.

Police said last week the results of a forensic analysis were pending and could take some time.

The matter has been referred to the coroner.