Hoang Van Nguyen, a cook’s helper at Bac Nam Vietnamese Restaurant, was a hard worker and friendly person, making it more astonishing for his boss that police say the 49-year-old man was killed.

“Big surprise for me because he’s so nice,” said Tam Huynh, owner of Bac Nam on South King Street in Makiki. “He didn’t bother anybody. He worked hard.”

Police are asking for the public’s help in finding the suspect or suspects responsible for Nguyen’s death after he was found dead last week in his Chinatown Manor apartment, 175 N. Hotel St.

Police said Nguyen was last seen alive at about 9 a.m. Dec. 27 near the intersection of North Hotel and River streets, just feet from his building’s entrance.

Two days later Nguyen’s body was found at about 9:30 a.m., and an autopsy determined his death was suspicious, police said. The Honolulu Medical Examiner’s office said the official cause of his death was still pending.

On Tuesday police reported Nguyen’s death and said it was classified as a second-degree murder. Police said Nguyen’s vehicle, a 2007 silver Toyota Camry with Hawaii license plates PDN 585, was missing.

A Chinatown Manor resident who gave only his first name, Ning, said Nguyen, who lived at the property for about two years, was well known in the Vietnamese community because he was friendly.

Huynh said Nguyen didn’t gamble or smoke and worked part time at the restaurant for about eight months, but had been a family friend for years. He last saw Nguyen on Christmas Eve, and said Nguyen seemed fine when he finished his shift.

Five days later, after Nguyen didn’t show up for work on Dec. 26 and 28, Huynh learned that Nguyen had died.

“He helped us a lot,” Huynh said, adding that his death was a tremendous loss.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to call CrimeStoppers at 955-8300 or *CRIME from a cellphone.