Dutch man facing sentencing in suicide powder case takes his own life

A 77-year-old Dutch man accused of illegally aiding suicide has ended his life days before he was to be sentenced, the public prosecution office has said. Prosecutors had called for a 2.5 year custodial sentence against Tom de M., with six months suspended, for selling a chemical compound known as “substance X” online. The unnamed powder, used in the chemical industry, was sold as a pain-free means to end one’s own life, but it can take people up to 40 hours to die, experts have said. Selling the powder is not an offence in itself, but under Dutch law, it is illegal to help someone to die, except by a doctor following the strict conditions of euthanasia legislation. The public prosecutor said De M. supplied the powder to at least 223 people, six of whom died, including a 33-year-old man.

Read more about this interesting case on Dutch News.