Mohammed Khawaja: Alleged Sydney Zoo prankster to fight criminal charges
A man has told a court he will fight criminal charges relating to a video which allegedly shows him jumping into an aquarium at Sydney Zoo as his pals filmed. A video of the alleged incident was then uploaded to TikTok.
Blacktown
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A prankster who was charged after he allegedly jumped semi-naked into an aquarium at a western Sydney zoo will fight the allegations.
Mohammed Khawaja, 30, of Peakhurst, faces a string of charges over the alleged trespassing incident at Sydney Zoo, near Blacktown, on July 27.
Police launched an investigation after footage was posted to social media showing a man sneak into the aquarium at 3pm on a Monday afternoon and dive inside and swim with rare fish in his underwear.
Police algae Mr Khawaja ignored warning signs and entered the aquarium while being filmed by his friends.
The friend who posted the video on social media platform TikTok, posted the footage with the caption, “I can’t believe he done that”.
The video shows a bearded and heavily-tattooed young man swimming around the tank as his friend says “what the f*** is that” while filming the incident in hysterics.
Sydney Zoo reported the incident to police after footage emerged online.
Mr Khawaja was charged four days later with entering enclosed lands, behaving in an offensive manner and entering an animal enclosure.
He did not appear when his matter was briefly mentioned at Blacktown Local Court on Thursday, with his defence lawyer entering pleas of not guilty to all charges over email.
The case will return to court in October.