Germans are occasionally accused of lacking the go-getter entrepreneurial spirit that Americans are famous for, but one young German man has shown a remarkable aptitude for sniffing out new market niches, as well as exploiting the benefits of information technology. However he has ended up in court as a result -- his chosen line of business was selling suicide pills via the Internet.

In a unique criminal case in Germany, a 23-year-old man identified only as Kejdi S., is accused of selling potentially fatal pills to 18 suicidal customers in Germany between November 2004 and May 2005.

Six of his customers died after taking his pills, while seven others lay in comas for days before they recovered. One of the lucky ones was a 21-year-old man from the state of Brandenburg, who was on the verge of death when he was discovered.

According to the public prosecutor's office in the western German city of Wuppertal, where the trial is taking place (and ironically the place where aspirin, also a popular choice of pill for suicide attempts, was invented), Kejdi S. earned almost €8,000 as a result of his deadly business. Some customers paid him in kind rather than in cash, giving him two laptops and a digital camera in return for his deadly wares.

He is accused of selling at least 1,550 tablets of the anti-epilepsy drug Luminal and 118 tablets of the antipsychotic drug Truxal. He obtained the drugs using counterfeit prescriptions provided by an accomplice, who received half of the illicit proceeds. However Kejdi S. refused to reveal his identity of his assistant, his lawyer said.

In court on Friday, Kejdi S. explained that his "business idea" had been inspired by a female friend of his, who had tried unsuccessfully to commit suicide in 2004. She introduced him to the "secret society" of Web sites where suicidal people swapped tips on how to kill themselves. Under the nickname "Buddha," he began trading in pills. Sometimes he posed as a medical student while at others he presented himself as a potential suicide case.

The defendant, who worked as a successful events promoter in Wuppertal, emphasized that he rued having run his immoral business. "I want to say very clearly that I deeply regret my past behavior today," he said via his lawyer. He stressed that he had not driven anyone to commit suicide -- in fact, he claimed that he had advised several potential suicide perpetrators to consider therapy or to reconsider their suicide plans.

Making money was not his only motive, he said, claiming he was more concerned with helping people. His customers, who ranged in age from 19 to 46, felt grateful toward him and appreciated his efforts to help them end their lives, he said.