French teen faces jail for licking straw and putting it back in Singapore vending machine

Mischief carries a penalty of up to two years in prison or a fine, or both, while public nuisance is less severe with up to three months in prison or a fine, or both. File photo

A French teenager has been charged with committing mischief and public nuisance 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, aged 18, was charged on April 24 and has not 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 on Wednesday to travel to Manila in May for a school trip required for his graduation, the Straits Times reported. He is due back in court on May 29.

Mischief carries a penalty of up to two years in prison or a fine, or both, while public nuisance is 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 teenager, who is studying in a French business school in Singapore, declined to comment on the case when contacted.

Singapore, a small, densely populated city state, tightly regulates public behaviour and cleanliness. This includes restrictions such as limits on chewing gum and strong penalties for littering, graffiti and vandalism.