SINGAPORE – A 19-year-old French business student studying in Singapore has been sentenced to a S$600 ($465 USD) fine after pleading guilty to a public nuisance charge this Thursday, stemming from a reckless social media stunt that saw him lick a juice vending machine straw before placing it back into the dispenser.
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien admitted he recorded the unsanitary act in March at a local Singaporean shopping mall, filming the stunt specifically for his online social media followers. The video quickly spread across digital platforms after it was posted, prompting authorities to file formal charges against the teen in April. A second separate charge of mischief was also considered by the court during the sentencing hearing.
Singapore’s legal system allows for a maximum penalty of up to three months of imprisonment for a public nuisance conviction. In this case, prosecutors requested the top allowable fine of S$2,000 ($1,551 USD), arguing that the pre-planned act posed unnecessary public health risks and could erode public trust in the hygiene of publicly accessible vending machines. Multiple mitigating factors led the court to issue a lower fine, and no community-based sentence was ordered. Prosecutors noted that Maximilien personally retrieved the contaminated straw after the stunt, no member of the public ended up using the straw, and no documented harm to any person occurred. They also referenced Maximilien’s age and his decision to enter an early guilty plea as additional mitigating circumstances.
Maximilien is currently enrolled at a Singaporean business school, and as part of his academic program, he will be based in France from September through December this year. Prosecutors confirmed that Singaporean immigration officials will conduct a separate review of his student pass eligibility following the conviction, with a final decision pending a full assessment of all relevant circumstances.
His defense attorney, Kalidass Murugayan, told the court that his client has been residing in Singapore without direct family support, and has expressed profound regret over his harmful decision. Murugayan clarified that after filming the stunt, Maximilien kept the licked straw for his own personal use, meaning it was never meant to be accessed by another customer. “He is truly sorry for having caused all this trouble,” Murugayan stated, adding that Maximilien’s parents have required him to pay the full fine using his own money. Following the hearing, the teen left the courthouse without making any public comments to reporters.
IJooz, the company that operates the juice vending machine where the incident occurred, launched a formal police complaint after learning of the stunt. The company immediately sanitized the entire dispenser unit and replaced all 500 straws stored in the machine as a public health precaution. In response to the incident, IJooz has also announced plans to roll out safety upgrades across its vending machine fleet, including shifting to individually wrapped straws and installing new dispensing compartments that only unlock after a customer completes their purchase.
This incident underscores Singapore’s strict approach to regulating public behavior and maintaining public cleanliness. The densely populated city-state is well known for imposing harsh penalties for acts that threaten public hygiene and order, including littering and vandalism.