A French teenager was charged in Singapore after a video showing him licking a straw from a vending machine went viral on social media, sparking widespread outrage.
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, filmed himself licking a straw and returning it to the dispenser of an iJooz vending machine at the Goldhill Centre, according to court documents. He shared the video as an Instagram story with the caption reading the “city is not safe”.
The incident took place on 12 March.
The unhygienic act sparked disgust online, with many users branding it childish but dangerous. They noted that it could spread diseases to unsuspecting people.
“Ugh! Why lick a straw and put it back in the dispenser!” a user reacted to the video. “That is a lack of respect for others who would use it without knowing! That person could have transmissible diseases! It’s a good lesson for him and an example for the others!”
Another user said: “He is contaminating the straw and doing it on purpose to trap someone. Who does he think he’s? Would he like it if someone spat in his food? Because to me, it’s exactly the same thing. It disgusts me, freaks like him.”
The teenager was formally charged on 24 April. He was charged with mischief, an offence that carries a potential jail term of up to two years, as well as public nuisance, which can result in imprisonment for up to three months or a fine, or both.
In the wake of the incident, iJooz said it had replaced all 500 straws in the affected machine’s dispenser.
The company said it had launched additional sanitisation protocols and inspections across its machines.
In its complaint, the company argued that the charge of mischief was warranted as Mr Maximilien knew his actions were “likely to cause wrongful loss or damage” to the business.
Mr Maximilien is a student at the Singapore campus of the ESSEC Business School.
A spokesperson for the institution said that it was aware of the incident and had launched an inquiry.
“ESSEC takes matters of conduct and community responsibility seriously, and internal investigations are under way,” the spokesperson said.
The teenager’s lawyers, Kanthan Raghavendra and Kalidass Murugaiyan, reportedly said his parents were travelling to Singapore from France and a representative from his school would act as the bailor.
The case is scheduled to be mentioned again in court on 22 May.
