The justice ministry has decided not to pursue legal action against a security guard for his role in the death of a burglar because he is terminally ill, the Parool reports on Tuesday.

The 46-year-old man was the only one of four people involved in the death of the burglar at the Frans Otten stadium in Amsterdam to face criminal charges.

The burglar’s family say the decision not to take the case to court is a licence to people with terminal illnesses to commit crimes.

Attack

The four – the stadium director and his two sons plus the security official – were standing guard at the stadium in Amsterdam after it had been broken into several times.

The 50-year-old burglar died in hospital several months after he was held in a stranglehold and beaten.

However, the public prosecution department decided to only pursue the case against the security guard for using excessive force. That case has now been dropped because of his health.

‘Given this situation, the public prosecution department believes no reasonable legal result will be achieved by taking action against the suspect,’ the department said in a statement.

The department said it had taken the interests of everyone involved in the case in making this decision.

Dutch government guidelines introduced in 2011 say that people who defend themselves against a burglar or armed robber should no longer be arrested as a matter of course.