French teenager fined in Singapore for viral straw-licking prank
A 19-year-old French national was fined SG$600 for posting a video on social media where he licked a straw and put it back into a vending machine dispenser.
A Singapore court has fined 19-year-old French national Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien SG$600 (€406) after he admitted to posting a video on social media of himself putting a straw he had licked back into the dispenser of an orange juice vending machine. The incident occurred on March 12, and the clip went viral on Instagram shortly after, triggering public backlash that led to his arrest.
Handing down the sentence, Judge Kelly Ho said given Maximilien's age and the nature of the offence, alternatives such as probation or a community-based sentence would not be imposed. Prosecutors agreed to the defence's proposal for a fine, saying the offence was at the lower end of seriousness, and while hygiene was compromised, no member of the public used the straw, so there was no evidence of harm. They added that Maximilien pleaded guilty at the earliest possible opportunity.
Defence counsel Kalidass Murugaiyan told the judge, "He is fully sorry for having caused all this trouble." The company iJooz, which operates the vending machines, said it replaced all 500 straws in the dispenser after the prank. Singapore is known for its strict enforcement of public order and hygiene rules. Last year it deported an Australian man at the end of a nine-day jail term for rushing film star Ariana Grande during the Asian premiere of "Wicked: For Good."
