Wire flash
OtherSingapore fines French teen S$600 for licking vending machine straw in viral stunt
Editorial responsibility
- No named human review is recorded for this page.
- Source reporting is collected, normalized, translated or condensed automatically when needed.
- Automatically published source-backed update
A Singapore court fined French student Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 19, S$600 ($465) for public nuisance after he licked a straw from an iJooz orange juice vending machine and put it back. Maximilien, who is studying in Singapore, posted the video on Instagram with the caption 'city is not safe'. The video sparked widespread disgust online and was reposted on community pages and local news. The vending machine company, iJooz, replaced all 500 straws in the dispenser following the incident. Maximilien pleaded guilty to one count of public nuisance, which carries a maximum fine of S$2,000 or three months in jail. Both prosecution and defense sought a fine. His lawyer stated he is 'truly sorry' and realizes his playful act had serious consequences. The incident occurred on March 12 at a machine in Goldhill Centre after a boxing workout.
Source report
Image caption: Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien is "truly sorry" for causing trouble, his lawyer says
By Joel Guinto
A Singapore court has fined a French student S$600 ($465; £348) for licking a straw from an orange juice vending machine and putting it back into its dispenser.
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of public nuisance.
- Maximilien, who is studying in Singapore, posted the video of himself licking the straw on Instagram with the caption "city is not safe".
- Many online reacted with disgust to his video, which was reposted on a community page and picked up by local news outlets.
- The company that owns the vending machine, iJooz, said it replaced all 500 straws in the machine dispenser after Maximilien's stunt.
Public nuisance offenders in Singapore face up to a S$2,000 fine, three months in jail, or both. Both the prosecution and the defence sought a fine for Maximilien.
Maximilien is "truly sorry for having caused all this trouble and he realises that what appeared to him at that time as something perhaps playful has turned out to be something very consequential," a defence lawyer was quoted as saying by The Straits Times.
Serving freshly-squeezed orange juice at S$2 per cup, iJooz vending machines are a common sight in shopping districts, train stations and housing blocks in Singapore.
Maximilien licked the straw from an iJooz machine in Goldhill Centre on 12 March, in one of the city-state's more affluent neighbourhoods, after a boxing workout, Channel News Asia reported.
Related Topics
- Asia
- Singapore
Source
BBC NewsWestern
Part of this Story
Singapore fines French teen $465 for licking vending machine straw in viral stunt