Notaries issue $10,000 reward for unsolved 2019 Richmond murder

It’s been six years since Stephen Chong was found dead inside his own business in Richmond.

The 58-year-old notary public was killed in 2019 and was discovered at the business on Granville Avenue near No. 3 Road.

At the time, the Lower Mainland’s Integrated Homicide Investigation Team said Chong had no criminal record and the death did not appear to be random, but no suspect or motive was identified.

“There are things at the scene, that we can’t go into detail about at this time, that certainly led the officers to believe that IHIT should be involved in this investigation,” then IHIT spokesperson  Sgt. Frank Jang explained in 2019.

In an update on Thursday, IHIT’s spokesperson Sgt. Frida Fong explained that Chong’s death has had a “profound impact” on his professional community.

“IHIT still needs anyone with information to come forward,” she explained.

“The Society of Notaries Public of Richmond, B.C., is appealing for the public’s help to identify those responsible for Mr. Chong’s murder,” she added.

Joan Letendre, spokesperson for the society, said Chong took special pride in his services, which he provided in English, Cantonese, and Mandarin, and built special relationships with those in the community.

“He was a well-respected legal professional, known for his honesty, reliability, and as a person of integrity to both clients and fellow notaries,” Letendre explained.

“Steven was a mentor and confidant to many in the legal community. Sadly, in 2019, we lost Steven when he was killed in his Richmond office. Steven was only 58 years old, and was looking forward to spending time with his wife and family members.

“His death had a tremendous impact on his family, clients, friends, and all the other notaries in the province. The Society of Notaries Public of BC is offering a reward of $10,000 for information provided to IHIT that leads to the arrest and charge of the individual or individuals responsible for the murder of Stephen,” Letendre said.

IHIT reaffirmed on Thursday that it believes Chong’s death was an isolated incident and not random.

“Over the years, we’ve received a number of tips which we have followed up on and that has helped the investigation, but we are just short of further information to get all the pieces together in the right place,” Fong said.

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