Five bizarre words man uttered about Donald Trump before allegedly eating a live GOLDFISH in a pet store - as staff member reveals their horror: 'I heard him crunch on it'
The man allegedly said 'this is for Donald Trump ' before eating the live red and white comet goldfish in Sydney 's Castle Hill Petbarn at 12pm on Sunday.
Police allege the 20-year-old had been on a Discord video call at the time and that the incident was part of a social media stunt.
The man then left the store before returning a short time later to pay for the $8 fish he allegedly consumed.
An investigation was quickly launched to find the man after staff raised the alarm.
NSW Police have said they are taking the matter 'seriously due to concerns around animal cruelty and public decency'.
The man has since attended Castle Hill Police station and is now assisting officers with their inquiries.
Despite the seriousness of the situation Castle Hill Police chose to refer to the man as the 'goldfish gobbler' in a follow-up statement released after he was found.
NSW Police subsequently charged the man with animal cruelty after alleging he ate the red and white comet goldfish as part of a social media stunt (pictured, stock)
Staff in the store said the man displayed no hesitation before putting the fish in his mouth and biting down.
'He swallowed the whole thing in front of me … I heard him crunch on it,' they told the Daily Telegraph.
'He walked straight over to the tank, picked it up and ate it,' another alleged.
The man has been charged with committing an act of animal cruelty and behaving in an offensive manner.
He will appear in Parramatta Local Court in August.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
2 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Pam Bondi deliberates releasing secret Ghislaine Maxwell interview as pressure swells on Trump team
Attorney General Pam Bondi is weighing whether to release an audio recording of the interviews her deputy conducted with Ghislaine Maxwell last month. The Justice Department recorded it's more than nine-hour sit-down with the convicted child sex trafficker, CNN reported. Amid pressure to be more transparent about the Jeffrey Epstein case, President Donald Trump 's administration is considering if the recordings should be made public. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche went down to Florida last month to spend two days questioning Maxwell about what she knows in regards to Epstein's horrific crimes. Maxwell is currently serving out a 20-year sentence for crimes related to sex trafficking conspiracy and enticing and transporting minors to engage in illegal sexual acts. This story is breaking and will be updated.
Daily Mail
32 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
How a kind-hearted couple's bid to give two Chinese exchange students a trip of a lifetime ended in tragedy - when one girl, 13, allegedly stabbed the other, 14, with a kitchen knife
A Newcastle couple's generous act to host two young Chinese exchange students has ended in horror, after one girl allegedly stabbed the other to death with their kitchen knife. Steve Maloney and Tracey Taylor had welcomed the 13 and 14-year-old girls into their home just eight days earlier as part of a short-term international exchange program. The girls had arrived from China on July 28, and were due to return on August 16 after attending a local school and exploring tourist sites across the Hunter region. But their dream trip turned into a nightmare just before 10.30pm on Monday night, when Ms Taylor heard a commotion in the home and went to investigate. It was then she discovered the 14-year-old girl with a serious stab wound to her torso. Emergency services were called to the scene, and the teenager was rushed to hospital in critical condition but tragically died a short time later. A 13-year-old girl, who was known to the victim, was arrested at the scene and is now assisting police with their inquiries. A kitchen knife believed to have been used in the attack was seized from the property and is undergoing forensic testing. The devastated host couple are now cooperating with detectives and have provided a 'significant amount of information,' according to NSW Police Superintendent Tracey Chapman. 'But no doubt this is a shock and a significant event in their lives as well,' she added. Neighbours said the host couple, who have lived at the home for four years, were quiet, describing them as private but friendly. Both are believed to work with young people in the area. 'I think he works at the youth detention centre and she is a social worker. They really keep to themselves,' one resident told Daily Mail Australia. 'It's absolutely awful. I can't imagine what they're going through.' In the hours before the stabbing, the two girls were seen smiling and giggling as they were dropped off across the street by a mini bus. Neighbour Steve told Daily Mail Australia he watched the girls hop out and walk up the driveway, appearing to be in high spirits. 'That's the second time I've seen them since they arrived,' he said. 'They looked like any other teenager. I think they were probably being dropped off from school.' 'The older one, she got out first and the other one took a little longer, but she waited for her. They were both smiling and looked happy. In the hours before the stabbing, the two girls were seen smiling and giggling as they were dropped off across the street 'Then they walked down the driveway. I could hear them chatting and giggling away.' Steve said he hadn't realised they were living next door until the night of the stabbing. 'I actually didn't know they had moved in because I've only seen them get dropped off twice,' he said. 'I wondered if maybe they'd met some boys in the area because they were so giddy.' Superintendent Chapman confirmed both girls were Chinese nationals and were part of an organised exchange program. 'Both the girls are from China and they travelled to Australia as part of a program where they stay with hosts as local residents,' she said. 'They attended a local school and were visiting areas around the Hunter region.' Police are still trying to determine the nature of the relationship between the two girls. 'Obviously extensive inquiries with other students, teachers, parents and the hosts, of course, to establish what the relationship was prior to last night,' Chapman said. She added that the investigation may take longer due to language barriers and the girls not being Australian residents. 'Investigation with young girls involved language barriers, working through the consulate, (and) they're not Australian residents, obviously,' she said. 'So there are obvious complications and complexities with that, which is why it's taken us some time to work through.' A crime scene remained in place for the majority of the day at the suburban home, with the State Crime Command's Homicide Squad leading the investigation under Strike Force Aggnes. Residents say they are stunned by the tragedy unfolding on their normally peaceful street. 'It's a very friendly neighbourhood and we've never had any problems living here,' one long-term local said. 'We didn't hear a thing last night and woke up to find the whole street taped off and full of police.' Police continue to investigate the exact circumstances of the tragedy. No charges have been laid but are expected to be later on Tuesday.
The Guardian
33 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Hundreds of jobseeker payments cancelled illegally by government IT system, watchdog finds
The legality of the system designed to penalise jobseekers has been thrown into doubt after the commonwealth ombudsman found a government department's automatic system unlawfully cancelled payments. The ombudsman has found 964 jobseekers had their payments unlawfully cancelled between April 2022 and July 2024 by the automated IT system that underpins the targeted compliance framework (TCF) system. TCF is designed to make sure jobseekers meet requirements such as attending meetings with an employment provider and applying for jobs to continue to receive their payments. Payment cancellations have been paused since January after the government found a further 1,326 people had financial penalties 'applied incorrectly' due to an IT issue. On top of this, 45 people had their payments illegally cancelled because the system continued to operate in error. On Wednesday, the ombudsman found the payments had been cancelled unlawfully and recommended the government continue to pause cancellations until the it could review the legality of the entire TCF system. The ombudsman, Iain Anderson, said he investigated cancellations where public servants working at the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations had failed to consider individual circumstances before cancelling a payment as laid down by law. 'They were just automating the cancellation without considering the individual circumstances of the jobseeker and whether it was appropriate to cancel the payment or not,' he told Guardian Australia. 'The target compliance framework itself has been very problematic in that regard.' Anderson said that in 2022 DEWR was also meant to put in a 'digital protection framework' to ensure jobseekers were treated fairly, but the department had failed to do so. Anderson said the secretary of DEWR, Natalie Jones, needed to be 'completely confident' the system was working properly before the cancellations resume. 'The targeted compliance framework has had a number of different problems, and so the secretary of DEWR needs to do much more than simply look at the unlawful cancellation issue. 'They need to be really certain that the entire target compliance framework is going to comply with the law and be fair.' He said there were also concerns as to whether the suspension of payments, which happens in tens of thousands of cases each month, was legal. 'We have some concerns as to whether the suspension process is happening fairly and reasonably,' he said. On top of this, Guardian Australia understands a Deloitte report into the IT system that underpins the TCF has found that it is not functioning within the proper legal frameworks. The Deloitte report – which has yet to be published – recommends overhauling the TCF's IT system to ensure that the suspension or cancellation of payments is done legally. The Greens have called for the government to abolish the TCF and release the report. 'It is clear that the TCF is an expensive hangover from a conservative government which has been heartlessly prolonged by this Labor government for far too long,' senator Penny Allman-Payne said. The DEWR is also conducting a legal review to examine the way decisions are being made under the legislation. The Ombudsman will continue to investigate the TCF with another report due out later in the year.
