A French teenager has been charged with mischief and public nuisance in Singapore for licking a straw and putting it back in an orange juice vending machine, court documents showed Monday.
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, allegedly filmed himself “licking a straw and placing it back at the vending machine”, uploaded the video on Instagram knowing that it “would or would probably cause annoyance to the public”, according to the documents.
The teenager is studying in Singapore, according to court records.
The public nuisance offence carries a jail term of up to three months and a fine.
A second charge of committing mischief said Maximilien knew that he was “likely to cause wrongful loss or damage” to iJooz, the company operating the vending machine which had to replace all 500 straws in the dispenser.
The mischief offence carries a punishment of up to two years in jail on conviction and a fine, according to the charge sheet.
Both offences were allegedly committed on March 12.
The charges were lodged before a district court last Friday, and the next hearing will be on May 22.
The Straits Times newspaper said the video “quickly went viral, sparking shock and concern among netizens”.