Hundreds of friends and family gathered in South Auckland to farewell the 21-year-old man who was found burnt to death last Thursday.
Police launched a homicide investigation into the death of Shalvin Prasad, who was found burning in scrub in Kingseat.
Shalvin Prasad's casket was led by a Hindu priest and his soccer team into the chapel at the Manukau Memorial Gardens on Monday.
He was remembered by his family and friends as a respectful, loving and innocent young man whose smile said a thousand words.
A member of his soccer club, Manukau United, said Mr Prasad was a great goal keeper, whose vocal presence on the field was always uplifting.
His family, in Hindu tradition, will go into mourning for the next 10 days at their home.
Mr Prasad would have turned 22 on Sunday.
Details expected
Police are expected to reveal on Tuesday why Mr Prasad was killed, saying they were holding off out of respect for his grieving family.
They have previously said he was targeted and more than one person may have been involved in his killing.
They say Mr Prasad had done something out of the ordinary the day before he was killed and that was the suspected motive.
