'Lessons learned' after death of man who authorities thought was boy, 17
Police and children’s services say lessons have been learned after a young man in care, who authorities believed at the time to be a teenager, was found dead after going missing.
Han Lam, also known as Hoang Trung, arrived in the Midlands from Vietnam on the back of a lorry in April 2016, and was arrested along with two others in a lay-by on the A41 near Tong, close to the M54.
He was taken into the care of Shropshire Council and placed with foster carers in Bridgnorth after a social services assessment determined he was 17, but was reported missing days later.
The body of Mr Lam – now known to have been 21 – was found in a park in Derbyshire on Christmas Day, eight months after he disappeared.
A serious case review by Shropshire’s Safeguarding Children Board has now concluded that the “tragic and untimely death” of Mr Lam could not have been foreseen, but identified a host of issues in the authorities’ handling of the case.
The report said social workers did not share important information about the ‘child’, and some notes taken during his initial assessment were lost.
