Singapore fines French student $465 for viral straw-licking stunt

A French student's prank in Singapore has landed him with a S$600 ($465) fine for public nuisance. Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 19, admitted to licking a straw from an orange juice vending machine and placing it back in the dispenser. He posted a video of the act on Instagram with the caption "city is not safe."

The stunt drew widespread disgust online and prompted the company operating the machines, iJooz, to replace all 500 straws in the affected dispenser. iJooz machines, which sell freshly squeezed orange juice for S$2 a cup, are a common sight across Singapore.

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city is not safe

Maximilien, who is studying in Singapore, committed the act on March 12 in the affluent Goldhill Centre neighborhood after a boxing workout. His defense lawyer told The Straits Times that Maximilien was "truly sorry for having caused all this trouble and he realises that what appeared to him at that time as something perhaps playful has turned out to be something very consequential."

Public nuisance offenders in Singapore can face fines of up to S$2,000, three months in jail, or both. Both the prosecution and defense agreed on a fine for Maximilien.

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truly sorry for having caused all this trouble and he realises that what appeared to him at that time as something perhaps playful has turned out to be something very consequential