A friend of a Dunedin man found dead at his home says he was “very humble” and had no enemies.
Police were called to Hillary St in the suburb of Pine Hill about 9am today where they found Gurjit Singh lying unresponsive amid shards of glass.
Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said the circumstances of the incident were unclear, and friends of the man were also unable to explain it.
Sunil Umat lived with Mr Singh for three years and described him as “just hard-working, a nice person to be around, very responsible”.
“We don’t know what happened or why it happened. We can’t figure it out. It’s still a big shock to us,” he said.
“He was just a pretty normal nice guy; no drinking, no smoking, that kind of person.”
‘‘There were cops everywhere, and you could see the man lying on the lawn on his back.’’
The witness said she saw no efforts by emergency services to try and resuscitate Mr Singh.
By 3pm the body was still on the lawn and covered by a tent, the witness said.
Mr Singh’s friends heard about the sudden death and immediately drove to the rental where the man had only lived a few months since leaving a flat in Helensburgh.
Mr Umat could think of no reason anyone would want to hurt him.
“You can’t have a problem with him. Even if someone did have a problem, he would ignore it."
Suspected break-in at house
Mr Singh had a small circle of friends in Dunedin and Mr Umat said his family was from the Punjab in India.
He was understood to be sub-contracting and according to Companies Office records he established Done With Dirt Ltd, of which he was sole director and shareholder, in November last year.
Otago Punjabi Foundation Trust member Narindervir Singh said Gurjit Singh had got married about six months ago and his wife was due to arrive in New Zealand early next month.
About two weeks ago, he said the victim found the garage door open and was suspicious of a break-in. He bought CCTV cameras to install in the house.
Police have released a statement urging members of the public to come forward if they could help or “saw any unusual activity” in the area.
The death remained unexplained and Snr Sgt Bond said Pine Hill residents could expect an increased police presence in the area.
‘‘There is not thought to be any ongoing safety risk to the public arising from the incident.
‘‘More details will be provided when they are available,” he said.
A St John ambulance left the scene before 9.20am.
Chorus vans were parked outside the property and workers were seen speaking with police this morning.
Neighbour Brenda Van Strik, who has lived in Hillary St for more than 40 years, said it was a quiet street.
“Everybody minds their own business,” she said.
- additional reporting John Lewis and Mark John
