Police today recovered the car belonging to a 49-year-old cook’s helper whose body was found in his Chinatown apartment last month.

A male was found sleeping in a 2007 silver Toyota Camry belonging to Hoang Van Nguyen at Kamehameha Highway and Acacia Road early this morning.

The male was arrested for an outstanding warrant, but not in connection with the murder.

Nguyen was last seen alive on Dec. 27 near the intersection of North Hotel and River streets, just a feet from his building’s entrance, the Chinatown Manor apartment at 175 N. Hotel St, according to the Honolulu Police Department.

His body was found at about 9:30 a.m. two days later. An autopsy determined his death was suspicious, police said.

The case is classified as a second-degree murder.

His car was reported missing.

Friends said the victim lived in the Chinatown apartment for about two years, was well known in the Vietnamese community because he was friendly. He had worked part-time at at Bac Nam Vietnamese Restaurant for about eight months.

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