A French teen is facing mischief and public nuisance charges in Singapore after posting a video on social media of himself licking a straw from an orange juice vending machine and then putting it back.
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, was charged April 24 and hasn’t entered a plea, the city-state’s largest English-language newspaper, The Straits Times, reported. He allegedly committed the offence at a shopping mall on March 12, and his video spread rapidly when it surfaced, the report said.
The teen was granted court permission Wednesday to travel to Manila from May 2 until May 25 for a school trip required for his graduation, according to the Straits Times. He would be due back in court on May 29.
Mischief carried a penalty of up to two years in prison or a fine, or both, while public nuisance was less severe with up to three months in prison or a fine, or both.
IJooz, the company operating the juice vending machine, filed a police report, and sanitised the dispenser while replacing all 500 straws in the machine. It said it would upgrade its machines to include measures such as individually packaged straws and straw compartments that unlock only after the transaction was completed.
Lawyers for the teen, who was studying in a French business school in Singapore, declined to comment on the case when contacted.
Singapore, a small, densely populated city-state, tightly regulated public behaviour and cleanliness. This included restrictions such as limits on chewing gum and strong penalties for littering and vandalism.
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