Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia — A French teenager is facing mischief and public nuisance charges in Singapore after he posted a video on social media of him licking a straw from an orange juice vending machine and then putting it back.
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilian, 18, was charged on April 24 and has not entered a plea, The Straits Times, the city-state’s largest English-language newspaper, said. The report said he allegedly committed the crime at a shopping mall on March 12 and his video went viral after it surfaced.
The Straits Times said the teen was granted court permission on Wednesday to travel to Manila from May 2-25 for a school trip required for his graduation. He is due back in court on May 29.
Mischief is punishable with a prison term of up to two years, or a fine, or both, while public nuisance is less serious and is punishable with a prison term of up to three months, or a fine, or both.
IJooz, a company that runs juice vending machines, lodged a police report and sanitized the dispensers by replacing all 500 straws in the machine. It said it would upgrade its machines, including measures such as individually packed straws and straw bins that unlock only after the transaction is completed.
Lawyers for the teenager, who is studying at a French business school in Singapore, declined to comment on the case when contacted.
Singapore, a small, densely populated city-state, strictly regulates public behavior and hygiene. These include restrictions such as limits on chewing gum and tougher penalties for littering and vandalism.
