A Belgian man went viral after he faked his death to find out who cared about him and then turned up to his funeral, shocking the guests by gloriously arriving in a helicopter alive.
45 years old, David Baertan planned a TikTok prank on his friends and family members earlier this month, faking his death. He could pull the stunt with the help of his wife and children.
Baertan and his family planned the fake funeral near Liege, Belgium, after his daughter shared a post on Facebook "grieving" her father's apparent loss, telling him to "rest in peace" and notifying people of his "death.
She wrote: "Why is life so unfair? Why you?
You were just going to be a grandfather, and you still had your whole life ahead of you.
"Rest in peace, Daddy. I will never stop thinking about you.
"I love you! And we will never forget you."
After the "sad" news, the family hosted a funeral for Baerten, attended by many friends and family members all dressed in black. Everyone was waiting for the ceremony to begin. However, the unsuspecting family members were surprised when a helicopter approached the venue, eventually landing nearby.
With a camera crew, the supposed-to-be 'late' father elegantly stepped off the helicopter,r and to the wildest bemusement of everyone present, he announced that it was just a prank. He said, "Cheers to you all, welcome to my funeral.
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Some family members rushed to embrace Baerten amidst emotional exchanges, while others remained confused as they couldn't wrap their heads around what was happening, totally bewildered.
"I Did It To Teach My Family A Lesson"
Many viewers criticized Baerten for being "cruel" to his family, as the prank did not sit well with them.
Baertan responded to the critics on his TikTok account, explaining that he pulled the stunt to see who truly cared for him.
The TikToker said that he faked his death to see how his wider family would respond to the situation and said he felt not appreciated enough by them.
"We all grew apart. I felt unappreciated", according to The Times.
He continued: "What I see in my family often hurts me. I never got invited to anything. No one sees me. That's why I wanted to give them a life lesson and to show them that they shouldn't wait until someone is dead to meet up with them."
Mr. Baerten, also known as Ragnar le Fou on TikTok, claimed that the "faking death prank" seems to have its desired effect as family members have been contacting much more since the incident.