A 19-year-old French student studying in Singapore has been ordered to pay a S$600 fine (equivalent to approximately US$465 and £348) after pleading guilty to a public nuisance charge over a reckless social media stunt that sparked widespread public anger. Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien committed the act back on March 12 at an iJooz vending machine located in Goldhill Centre, an upscale neighborhood in Singapore, shortly after finishing a boxing training session, according to reporting from Channel News Asia.
Following the incident, Maximilien uploaded a video of himself licking an unused straw taken from the vending machine’s dispenser before placing it back with the rest of the straws. He captioned the post “city is not safe”, which quickly spread beyond his original followers after being reposted to a local community page and picked up by mainstream Singaporean news outlets. Thousands of social media users expressed sharp disgust at the irresponsible act, which put hundreds of other consumers at potential risk of exposure to germs and illness.
In response to the incident, iJooz — the company that operates the popular vending machine chain, which sells freshly squeezed orange juice for S$2 per cup and has machines placed across Singapore in shopping districts, train terminals, and public housing estates — took immediate precautionary action. The firm replaced all 500 straws stored in the affected machine’s dispenser to eliminate any public health risk.
Under Singaporean law, convictions for public nuisance carry a maximum penalty of up to S$2,000 in fines, three months of imprisonment, or both. In this case, both prosecution and defense legal teams agreed that a fine was the appropriate sentencing for the first-time offender. Speaking on behalf of her client, Maximilien’s defense lawyer told The Straits Times that the student has expressed deep regret for his actions. “He is truly sorry for having caused all this trouble,” the lawyer stated, adding that Maximilien now recognizes what he initially thought was a harmless prank has turned into a serious incident with far-reaching consequences.
The case has reignited public conversation in Singapore about social media stunts, personal responsibility, and the potential for reckless acts to create unnecessary harm and disruption for the wider community.