Police name man found dead in ABC Chinese

Columbia police on Wednesday released the name of the man found dead last month in a Chinese restaurant after apparently breaking in.

Police said Nam Hoang Le, 53, of Columbia was found dead inside ABC Chinese the morning of Feb. 18. The restaurant owner told ABC 17 News he found the man dead when he opened the restaurant for business that morning. The owner said the man had fallen through the ceiling and a reporter saw dried blood in the restaurant’s kitchen.

The Columbia Police Department said the investigation showed Le broke into the business in what was apparently an attempted burglary. The department said Feb. 28 that it had identified the man as a Vietnamese national but did not release the name at that time pending notificaiton of next of kin.

The department said Wednesday that it had made contact with Le’s brother in Vietnam through a translator and notified him of the death.

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