Seeing double? Friends prank man with creative police standee at Nex

To surprise their friend on his birthday, a group of young adults decided to "turn" him into Singapore's favourite police officer.

TikTok user T1ew posted a video documenting the entire process last Sunday (July 3).

The minute-long video showed the group of friends planning the prank, leading up to the very moment where they sprung the surprise on birthday boy Joshua Poh. 

Placing the life-sized standee outside a convenience store at Nex, they tried to get him to spot it by casually walking past it. However, Poh didn't notice anything amiss until his friend pointed it out.

@t1ew_

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JP!!!!

♬ Mission Impossible (Main Theme) - Favorite Movie Songs

Speaking to AsiaOne, Poh said his friends asked him out for lunch last Saturday. 

The 24-year-old photographer, whose birthday was on July 1, recalled: "[My friend] tried to get me to notice the standee but somehow I didn't notice a thing." 

"[It was only when] the girl that was recording the video asked me again if I noticed anything weird, that was where I finally saw the standee. [It was] so well-blended with the environment," he said. 

Carrying the standee around the mall while out with his friends earned Poh some curious stares from passers-by. "I bet they were thinking I stole the actual standee, haha." 

As for the photo of him in police uniform, Poh revealed it was taken about three years ago when he was an extra on set for local productions Long Long Time Ago and Diam Diam Era. 

T1ew's video of the elaborate prank went viral on TikTok, and garnered over 90,300 views in three days. 

Other TikTok users appeared to love the birthday surprise and wanted to take inspiration from the video. 

Responding to some queries about the standee, T1ew explained in the comments that one of their friends designed it to be foldable. 

It cost about $50 to print the standee on foam core board, she added.

The amused birthday boy also posted a TikTok thanking his friends for the "memorable surprise". 

@jp.da_ When your friends are design and art students, anything is possible 🤣🤣 DISCLAIMER: I WAS ACTING AS A POLICEMAN MAN DONKEY YEARS AGO AND TOOK THIS PIC FOR FUN. WOULDN'T EXPECT THEM TO PRINT A LIFE SIZE POSTER OF IT #sgtiktok #fyp #prank #singapore #friendship ♬ As It Was - Harry Styles

"When your friends are design and art students, anything is possible," he wrote in the video's caption. 

So, what actually happened to the standee? 

Mentioning in his TikTok that he was "too embarrassed to leave it at Nex", Poh brought the masterpiece back home with him.

His family even jokingly asked him to leave it at their front door. 

"It's currently in my room watching me sleep every night," he said. 

claudiatan@asiaone.com