A young man who drowned in Sydney's Darling Harbour after a nightclub fight has been remembered as a "good kid".
Jason Daep, 19, was at Pontoon Bar at Cockle Bay when several men began fighting at the patio premises about 1am (AEDT) on Sunday.
Police say a brawl between 20 men then erupted on the adjacent boardwalk and two female police officers were assaulted when they tried to intervene.
Mr Daep ended up in the water and sank quickly, prompting one of the officers and members of the public to jump in to try to rescue him, but to no avail.
Police divers located Mr Daep's body about 3.30am (AEDT).
Friends today paid tribute to Mr Daep.
"He was very strong-hearted," one told Nine News. "We used to call him the lion heart."
"He was such a good kid," said another. "He never caused no trouble. He was just really loving, really friendly, really caring."
Police have alleged Mr Daep was assaulted and pushed into the harbour by an off-duty security guard, police allege.
Ehab Taleb, 22, of Berala, appeared in Sydney's Local Court today charged with Mr Daep's manslaughter.
Two of his co-workers, 23-year-old Mohammed Ghani, from Macquarie Fields, and 24-year-old Martin Prescott, from Birrong, were charged with affray over the incident.
Court documents allege that Taleb assaulted Mr Daep before pushing him into the water.
The shaven-headed Taleb did not express emotion as he sat in the dock wearing prison greens.
His solicitor Ulysses Coustas entered a plea of not guilty and told journalists outside court: "At this stage, we'll be challenging the charges."
Mr Coustas told the court Taleb was not working and would be returning to University of Western Sydney to study civil engineering.
Magistrate Lee Gilmour noted the seriousness of the alleged offence but granted his application for bail, indicating police allegations against Taleb would need clarification.
"Whilst I appreciate there has been a loss of life ... clearly from the facts there are issues that will require careful consideration," Ms Gilmour told the court.
Taleb's father was in court and posted a $5000 surety bond as part of his son's strict bail conditions.
Outside court, the father avoided journalists and said: "I don't know what you're talking about," when asked about the allegations.
Taleb's strict bail conditions state he must report to Liverpool police station daily, not approach the Darling Harbour precinct, not approach any witnesses to the incident and surrender all passports.
His matter will come before Downing Centre Local Court on April 10.
Ghani and Prescott will have their matters heard before the same court on March 13.
Ghani's father Ahmed told AAP that his son suffered a broken nose during the incident.
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