RICHMOND - The discovery of a man's body in a Richmond, B.C., business is being treated as suspicious and has brought homicide investigators to the scene.

The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team was deployed Friday evening after Richmond RCMP were called to a strip mall in the 8200-block of Granville Avenue between St. Albans and No. 3 roads around 5:50 p.m.

"The frontline officers that attended did a preliminary survey of the scene and determined that something wasn't right,” said IHIT’s Cpl. Frank Jang. “Something was suspicious with Mr. Chong's death and that's why IHIT was called in."

On Saturday, Jang identified the victim as 58-year-old Stephen Chong, a notary public with an office in the building.

Jang said the death is not believed to be random.

Wing Kee Restaurant and its parking lot were behind police tape Friday night, but investigators could be seen entering and exiting the door that leads to offices above the restaurant. A sign in the window identifies the office as belonging to Chong.

IHIT says it is working with Richmond RCMP, the Integrated Forensic Identification Service and the B.C. Coroner's Service to gather evidence.

Robert Convey lives next door. On Friday night, he told CTV News Vancouver the area is usually quiet, so he was surprised to see emergency vehicles and lots of police officers in the parking lot outside his residence.

"It's a little concerning," he said. "Obviously, when there's this many police and fire trucks and stuff outside your building it's not too comforting."

Investigators would now like to speak to anyone who knew Chong, particularly those who had contact with him in his final days. They're hoping someone can provide a detail that sheds light on what took place in his office.

“Based on his profession, there must be people – associates, colleagues – that knew him well and perhaps knew what happened to him,” said Jang.

With files from the Canadian Press