French teenager, 18, who licked iJooz straw in Thomson charged with mischief, public nuisance

The teenager who filmed himself licking a straw and returning it to an iJooz vending machine was charged in court on Apr. 24.

Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, was given one count each of committing mischief and public nuisance.

The incident allegedly took place at about 2pm on Mar. 12 at Goldhill Centre in Thomson Road.

Charge sheets said the French national had filmed himself licking a straw and placing it back at the vending machine, edited the video on Snapchat, and later uploaded the edited video onto his Instagram Story.

iJooz had to replace all 500 straws in the dispenser, valued at S$5.

No indication of plea

According to court records, the teenager, who is represented by lawyers Kalidass Murugaiyan and Kanthan Raghavendra, did not indicate a plea.

Maximilien, who is on a Student Pass, was studying and staying in Singapore alone.

His parents would be flying over this evening, according to court records.

He was offered bail of S$5,000, with a representative from his school serving as his bailor.

His next court date is scheduled for May 22.

If convicted of mischief, he could be jailed for up to two years, fined, or both.

If convicted of public nuisance, he could be jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$2,000, or both.

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