A 49-year-old man whose body was found in his Chinatown apartment late last year was strangled, the Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office said Tuesday.

Hoang Van Nguyen was suffocated due to compression of his neck, the Medical Examiner’s Office said. The manner of his death was ruled a homicide.

Police opened a second-degree murder investigation after Nguyen’s body was found in his North Hotel Street apartment on Dec. 29. Police said he had been seen alive down the street from his apartment two days prior.

His car, a 2007 Toyota Camry, was also reported missing, and police recovered it in Pearl City on Jan. 7. A man found sleeping in the car was arrested for an outstanding warrant, but not in connection with the murder.

Friends said Nguyen worked part-time at Bac Nam Vietnamese Restaurant as a cook’s helper.

The case is still under investigation.