<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/victoria" rel="" target="" title="Victorian"><span>Victorian</span></a><span> man at the centre of yesterday's </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/bondi" rel="" target="" title="Bondi"><span>Bondi</span></a><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/bombing" rel="" target="" title="bomb scare"><span>bomb scare</span></a><span> has apologised for what he says was a misunderstanding.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Charges against the 34-year-old could be dropped following a major police response that was sparked after he asked for directions to the iconic beach while sporting a weighted </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/military" rel="" target="" title="military"><span>military</span></a><span>-style vest wrapped in duct tape.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Cleophas Machaya issued an apology to the </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/bondi" rel="" target="" title="Bondi"><span>Bondi</span></a><span> community before travelling back to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/melbourne" rel="" target="" title="Melbourne"><span>Melbourne</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/bondi-junction-vest-arrest-concern-and-fear/b3345c0f-581f-4a17-9a5b-08b7e035eb17" rel="" target="" title="Man arrested in Bondi vest scare told to leave state"><strong><span>Man arrested in Bondi vest scare told to leave state</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I'm completely sorry for anyone that thought that I was some kind of threat to them," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I literally just walked around with a weight vest to get some training in."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Machaya said he did not know the vest was going to raise suspicion and that it was wrapped in tape because "the weights were falling out".</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/victorian-man-apologises-following-bondi-bomb-scare/694f0276-067f-44ee-9d7d-2a282e765208" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His destination on his run was the scene of a vigil to mark the end of a mourning period for victims of the Bondi </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/terrorism" rel="" target="" title="terror attack"><span>terror attack</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>He spent the night behind bars, pleading in court after what he described as an honest mistake.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/thomas-sewells-neonazi-national-socialist-network-to-be-fully-disbanded-before-hate-speech-laws/8f82d155-116f-48e9-b090-6eb2650afe5c" rel="" target="" title="Thomas Sewell's neo-Nazi National Socialist Network to be 'fully disbanded' before hate speech laws"><strong><span>Thomas Sewell's neo-Nazi National Socialist Network to be 'fully disbanded' before hate speech laws</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The 34-year-old told 9News that he now understands why he was stopped and that the community was tense, however, he believes authorities overreacted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"A bomb threat is a bomb threat," he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't think they needed to keep me in jail for about 14 hours for a weight vest that they could have just looked at right then and there.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I was brought up in this country and I am full for </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national" rel="" target="" title="Australian"><span>Australian</span></a><span> values."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A magistrate is set to decide whether Machaya's acts were malicious or misguided.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/law" rel="" target="" title="lawyer"><span>lawyer</span></a><span> claims charges relating to the bomb scare could be dropped when the case returns to </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/courts" rel="" target="" title="court"><span>court</span></a><span> next month.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f"><em><strong><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></strong></em></a><em><strong><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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