A French student was fined the equivalent of $465 after pleading guilty in Singapore to a public nuisance charge for filming himself licking a straw from an orange juice vending machine and putting it back. Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 19, admitted to licking the straw and returning it to the vending machine while recording himself for his online followers. The incident happened at a shopping mall in March, and he was charged in April after the video spread rapidly. A separate mischief charge was taken into consideration during sentencing, and the court did not order any community-based punishment after weighing mitigating factors. Prosecutors, who sought the maximum fine of $1,551, said the staged act risked undermining public confidence in the hygiene of a commonly used machine. They noted Maximilien retrieved the straw himself, that no member of the public used it, and that he pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. The defense lawyer said his client, who studies at a business school in Singapore, is “truly sorry for having caused all this trouble.” Maximilien’s parents will ensure he pays the fine himself. IJooz, the company that operates the machine, sanitized the dispenser, replaced all 500 straws, and plans to upgrade its machines with individually packaged straws.
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