SINGAPORE, July 30 — A French teenager who filmed himself licking a straw before returning it to an orange juice vending machine dispenser has been fined S$600 (RM1,900), after the stunt forced the operator to replace all 500 straws in the dispenser.
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 19, pleaded guilty to one count of being a public nuisance and was sentenced today.
The incident took place at Goldhill Centre on Thomson Road on March 12, according to The Straits Times.
The court heard that Maximilien removed a straw from an iJooz vending machine, licked it and placed it back in the dispenser while filming himself.
He later uploaded the footage to social media, where it sparked an uproar.
iJooz, which operates vending machines selling freshly squeezed orange juice, subsequently replaced all 500 straws in the dispenser.
Deputy public prosecutor Maximilian Chew sought a fine, saying the act had been deliberate and planned.
However, Chew noted that Maximilien later retrieved the same straw for his own use after filming the video, meaning no member of the public used the contaminated straw.
Maximilien had initially been due to plead guilty on July 13, but the hearing was adjourned while prosecutors awaited information from the Immigration & Checkpoints Authority on whether his student pass would be cancelled following a conviction.
He had previously been charged with mischief as well as being a public nuisance.
A person convicted of being a public nuisance in Singapore can be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$2,000, or both.
