LOS ANGELES (Kyodo) A Chinese man has been arrested on suspicion of killing a hotel manager in January near Little Tokyo, the Los Angeles Police Department said Wednesday.

Hideko Oyama, 74, manager of the Chetwood Hotel, was stabbed to death there on Jan. 5. On Tuesday, the LAPD arrested Jian Hong Li, a 39-year-old Chinese national who was staying at the hotel on the day of the murder.

"As a resident of the hotel, we had wanted to interview Mr. Li, but he had disappeared," Paul Vernon, commanding officer of the detective division for downtown, said in a statement.

"Detectives followed leads from Los Angeles to Camarillo, only to discover him walking on First Street, just east of the Los Angeles River," he said.

Oyama was found dead Jan. 5 in an office on the second floor of the hotel. The LAPD said they believe robbery was the motive for the crime.

Li's bail was set at $1 million. An acquaintance of Oyama has said she was from Yamagata Prefecture.

The case will be presented to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's office in a couple of days.