In a nation with one of the most permissive legal regimes in the world, officials say they were tipped off by a letter to the De Standaard newspaper, which was penned anonymously, according to BioEdge Sunday.

The letter recounted how a family member who died two years ago was told that it was to be presumed that euthanasia was the cause of death. The doctors that administered the euthanasia did not inform the family, an experience the family described as “traumatic.”

Informing the family if someone wishes to be euthanized is not legally required in Belgium but some medical groups recommend it.

Wim Distelmans, a professor and the chief euthanasia overseer in Belgium, said that his committee is supposed to be notified about each case of euthanasia that happens in the country but that does not always occur.

“Some doctors are happy to admit that,” Distelmans said.

“What doctors write down, we naturally take for granted as true,” he said.

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