French Teen Fined in Singapore Over Straw Lick Video

A Singapore court fined a French student S$600 ($465/£348) after he licked a straw from an orange juice vending machine and put it back into the dispenser.

Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of public nuisance. The case drew attention online after a video of the incident circulated on social media.

Guilty Plea Over Vending Machine Incident

Maximilien, who is studying in Singapore, uploaded the video to Instagram. In the post, he captioned the clip “city is not safe”.

He admitted to the offence after the action was recorded at a vending machine in Goldhill Centre on 12 March, in one of the city-state’s more affluent neighbourhoods, Channel News Asia reported. The report said he had licked the straw after a boxing workout.

Online Backlash And Video Sharing

After the video was posted, many social media users reacted with disgust. The clip was later reposted on a community page and picked up by local news outlets, prompting further scrutiny of the incident.

Both the prosecution and the defence sought a fine for Maximilien during the court proceedings, according to the report.

Company Said It Replaced Straws

iJooz, the company that owns the vending machine, said it replaced all 500 straws in the machine’s dispenser after the stunt.

A defence lawyer was quoted by The Straits Times as saying 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”.

iJooz vending machines sell freshly squeezed orange juice for S$2 per cup. The machines are commonly found in shopping districts, train stations and housing blocks across Singapore.

Sentencing Range for Public Nuisance

In Singapore, public nuisance offenders can face up to a S$2,000 fine, three months in jail, or both. The court’s decision therefore imposed a lower end of the potential penalty range, using a fine as the punishment.

Join the discussion?

31 July 2026