CHRISTMAS DAY DEATH: 7am caller alerted police to gruesome find

An inquest has heard how police were directed to the body of a 17-year-old Vietnamese man found in Heanor on Christmas Day.
The scene of the police cordon in Heanor (Image: Derby Telegraph).The scene of the police cordon in Heanor (Image: Derby Telegraph).
The scene of the police cordon in Heanor (Image: Derby Telegraph).

Officers received a call at 7am from someone who told them the body of Han Lam was at an address on Ilkeston Road.

They are now treating the death of Mr Lam - who has also been known as Hoang Trung - as ‘suspicious’.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

An inquest was today opened into the death at Derby Coroners’ Court by senior coroner Dr Robert Hunter.

The scene of the police cordon in Heanor (Image: Derby Telegraph).The scene of the police cordon in Heanor (Image: Derby Telegraph).
The scene of the police cordon in Heanor (Image: Derby Telegraph).

Of the 7am call, acting detective inspector Justin Redman said: “The caller told us that if we went to a certain address, we would find the deceased, which were told was near to a nursery.

“Officers were dispatched and the post code took us to Ilkeston Road in Heanor, where the search started.

“Mr Lam’s body was located on a sloping path that led down to the former council offices on the site.

“It was behind a wall and about 25 metres from the road.”

The scene of the police cordon in Heanor (Image: Derby Telegraph).The scene of the police cordon in Heanor (Image: Derby Telegraph).
The scene of the police cordon in Heanor (Image: Derby Telegraph).
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“He was identified by fingerprints which were compared to Immigration and Border Agency records from earlier this year and confirmed as his.”

Mr Redman said Mr Lam’s address, occupation and marital status were unknown.

Dr Hunter said that a Home Office pathologist had carried out a post-mortem but that no cause of death had yet been confirmed.

He added that contact was being made with the Vietnamese Embassy to try to locate next of kin, either in Vietnam or in the UK.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Dr Hunter adjourned the inquest and said an internal review of the case would be carried out on January 25 to determine whether any relatives had been found, the cause of death established and police progress in the incident.

Police have previously revealed that they believe Mr Lam may have died in a different place to where he was found.

He is also known to have connections to the Birmingham area but no previous links to Heanor have yet been identified.