French student pleads guilty and is fined for a straw-licking stunt in Singapore
Prosecutors said the staged social media stunt was deliberate, and the court imposed a fine after finding no evidence that anyone used the straw.
- On Thursday, July 30, French national Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien was fined S$600 for public nuisance after pleading guilty to licking a straw at an iJooz vending machine in Singapore.
- The incident occurred on March 12 at Goldhill Centre, where Maximilien filmed himself licking a straw before returning it to the dispenser; he later retrieved the contaminated straw, ensuring no member of the public used it.
- Defence lawyer Kalidass Murugaiyan advocated for a fine due to logistical difficulties securing a local guardian for Maximilien, with the family having "every intention" of ensuring payment. Both prosecution and defence agreed the fine was suitable.
- After Maximilien posted the footage to Instagram, an acquaintance forwarded it to a media outlet, causing the clip to go viral. The act forced iJooz to replace all 500 straws in the dispenser, worth S$5 total.
- Immigration and Checkpoints Authority officials will determine the status of Maximilien's student pass following his conviction, considering all relevant circumstances of the case, said Deputy Public Prosecutor Maximilian Chew.
97 Articles
97 Articles
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, a 19-year-old Frenchman, has been fined this Thursday in Singapore after pleading guilty to a public disorder charge for a prank in which he licked a straw and put it back on the dispenser of a city-state juice machine. The young man has received a penalty of 600 Singapore dollars (about 406 euros) after admitting to have published on social networks a video in which he was seen committing the offence. The recordi…
The video has become viral in a few hours: the 19-year-old has apologized, but now risks the withdrawal of permission to study in the island state of Southeast Asia
A young Frenchman was fined in Singapore after licking a straw in a juice dispenser and spreading the video over networks.
It should be a joke, now a student in Singapore has had to feel serious consequences. Because he licked a drinking straw at a vending machine, he was targeted by the rigid justice system in the city state.
The 19-year-old Frenchman who licked a straw and put it back in the automatic machine in Singapore got rid of the prison sentence. Court decided to apply a fine of 406 euros.
A French student has been fined 600 Singapore dollars (406 euros) by a court in Singapore for licking an orange juice straw from a vending machine and then returning it to the dispenser. The teenager pleaded guilty to disturbing public order.
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