Man fakes his own death before turning up to his funeral in a helicopter
15 June 2023, 11:55
The man wanted to teach his family a "life lesson" about staying in touch.
A man has gone viral on TikTok after he faked his own death before turning up to his own funeral in a helicopter.
David Baerten, from Belgium, said that he lied to his family in order to "give them a life lesson" that "you shouldn't wait until someone is dead to meet up with them".
In video footage from the fake funeral, David can be seen arriving in style to surprise his grieving loved ones.
While some people would be angry about the prank, the TikTok videos show many people crying and hugging David, clearly happy that he is still alive.
David did tell his wife and children about the prank prior to faking his own death, with one of his daughters even getting involved with spreading the falsehood.
The daughter reportedly wrote on social media: "Rest in peace Daddy. I will never stop thinking about you."
She added: "Why is life so unfair? Why you? You were going to be a grandfather, and you still had your whole life ahead of you. I love you! We love you! We will never forget you."
Speaking about why he went to such extreme levels to make a point, David explained: "What I see in my family often hurts me. I never get invited to anything. Nobody sees me. We all grew apart. I felt unappreciated.
"That's why I wanted to give them a life lesson, and show them that you shouldn't wait until someone is dead to meet up with them."
One person who was attending the fake funeral posted the footage on TikTok, writing in the caption: "Tu nous as eu on t aime mon ami on est content que tu es parmis nous", which translates to: "You had us we love you my friend we are happy that you are among us."
They also posted a second video, which they captioned with: "You had us I swear to you I was in tears and after I had the shock bro we love you very much."
