The police inquiry into the death of a 39-year-old Temuka man is continuing, with investigators now awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination completed yesterday.

Dale Robert Bellaney died shortly after 8am Tuesday, after sustaining injuries during an altercation outside the Crown Hotel in Temuka on Saturday night.

Police were called to the pub at 8.50pm. Another man and a woman were also injured in the fight and treated at the scene by ambulance staff.

A post-mortem examination was performed yesterday, but it was likely to be some time before findings are available, Detective Senior Sergeant Marion Neill said.

"At this stage we are not in a position to speculate on how any fatal injury occurred," she said. "Our investigation team is focusing on establishing what has happened in the incident. We are continuing to interview witnesses and review CCTV footage of the incident, and following up on information received from the public."

Investigators have said that the fight may have been related to a dispute between two groups of people that began earlier in the evening inside the Crown Hotel.

Following yesterday's examination, Mr Bellaney’s body was released to his partner.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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