The asylum seeker was near the reception centre when a station wagon arrived there carrying three men, said the police.
Two men got off the car and started to beat the asylum seeker. One of the assailants is believed to have been flinging a knife towards the direction of the asylum seeker.
The victim was left with scratches and bruises.
The news was first published in the Iltalehti, a Finnish language tabloid.
In late November, an Iraqi man who happened to be in the yard of the Kaivanto reception centre was also beaten up.
Three Finnish men are suspected of the act and the police are investigating the incident as aggravated assault.
