SHOCKING FOOLERY.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 November 1916, Page 8

SHOCKING FOOLERY.

■UNDERTAKER HOAXED. BOGUS DEATH AND FUNERAL .. NOTICE. It is rare indeed that any citizen of Christehurch lias the .opportunity of reading his own death and funeral notice in the.newspapers. Yet on? citizen had that questionable pleasure to-day (said the Sun of. Saturday), when on opening a morning ■ newspaper he was amazed to learn that he had died the previous evening at his residence, on the Bottle Lake road.- Having serious reason to doubt the truth pf the announcement, the sceptical citizen turned to the back page ,of the journal, where the funeral notices generally appeared, and there, sure enough; was; confirmation of the startling information.. The advertisement intimated that the funeral would leave his residence at 3 p.m. on Sunday for the Linwood cemetery. In a short time telegrams couched in the most sympathetic terms began to arrive, condoling with, the family on its supposed irreparable loss. The citizen thought it was time to act, and be astounded the undertaker .whose name appeared at the end. of the funeral announcement by informing him that he was alive and we 11.'..... The undertaker .was shocked beyond expression at the hoax perpetrated on him and all the parties concerned, and explained how the thing occurred. Speaking to a Sun representative, the undertaker stated that' at !) o'clock on Friday evening he reecived a telephone message allegedly from Bottle Lake, announcing the death of the man whose name is stated in the death notice, and asking him to make the necessary funeral arrangements. "The informant also stated that he was the son of the dead man; that hewas speaking from Bottle Lake, and, as it was too lak l for him to get into town, would, the undertaker kindly see that the notice was inserted in the newspapers? The undertaker acceded to the request and inserted the notices, arranged for a coffin, and also, for a grave site at the Linwood cemetery. As previously indicated, on Satuida/ norning he received a telephone mes- i sage from the man himself, acquainting him with the fact that be had been hoaxed. Shortly after, some of the man's relatives had come in. lie communicated with the City Council authorities, informing them of the facte, and learned that tile grave had been already dug. The undertaker said that he was feeling very badly over the matter—in fact, the incident had made him quite ill. It was the fourth time during the past few weeks that he had been hoaxed in that way, and lie regarded it as a. monstrous and' inhuman practice, occasioning suffering to the man himself, the relatives, tiie undertaker, and all concerned. He said he hoped that- drastic steps would be taken to deal with the offenders.