French teen, 19, who licked iJooz straw fined S$600

The 19-year-old French teenager who filmed himself licking a straw and returning it to an iJooz vending machine was fined S$600 for public nuisance on Jul. 30, 2026.

Court documents seen by Mothership stated that Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien pleaded guilty to one count of public nuisance.

A second charge of mischief was taken into consideration during sentencing, CNA reported.

His lawyer had previously told the district court on Jun. 26 that Maximilien, who was not present at the hearing, would enter a plea on the afternoon of Jul. 13.

Earlier reports stated that Maximilien had previously been charged on Apr. 24 with one count of committing mischief and another count of public nuisance.

Incident

The incident took place on Mar. 12 at Goldhill Centre in Thomson Road, where Maximilien was attending a boxing session.

Afterwards, at about 2pm, he filmed himself removing and licking a straw from an iJooz kiosk before placing it back into the straw dispenser.

His antics went viral after he posted the video onto his Instagram Story on the same day.

iJooz, which is known for its orange juice vending machines, replaced all 500 straws in the dispenser, valued at S$5.

Prosecution, defence agreed fine suitable

CNA reported that the prosecution agreed with the defence that a fine was suitable.

Taking over the case from a state prosecuting officer, the deputy public prosecutor (DPP) said a fine would suffice given Maximilien's youth and the case's circumstances.

He left the calibration of the quantum to the court's discretion.

The previous hearing had been adjourned so the prosecution could check the status of Maximilien's student pass on conviction.

"I understand that ICA will make that decision having regard to all relevant considerations including circumstances of the case and the outcome of today's proceedings," CNA reported the DPP as saying.

The prosecution's sentencing position is independent of the outcome of Maximilien's student pass, he added.

Teen 'truly sorry': Defence lawyer

According to CNA, the defence had considered pushing for probation or a community-based sentence.

However, there will be logistical difficulties for him to be on probation as Maximilien's father is working in France and the family would have trouble getting someone to be a guardian for him here.

His defence lawyer stated that "the contaminated straw was not used by anyone."

He added: "Unfortunately, he made the decision to share it within his Instagram circle ... someone in his circle, within his Instagram circle of contacts, had taken a screen video of it and forwarded it to a media outlet and that's how it went viral."

This was to explain how the incident became something that "may have caused public disquiet", he said.

The lawyer noted that Maximilien is "truly sorry for having caused all this trouble and he realises that what appeared to him at that time as something perhaps playful has turned out to be something very consequential".

He also shared that Maximilien's family has also "counselled him on the importance of taking responsibility for his actions".

Penalties

His parents have "every intention" of ensuring he pays for the fine, the lawyer added.

Probation or other community-based sentences should ordinarily be the port of call considering Maximilien's age and the nature and circumstances of the case, CNA reported the district judge as saying.

However, she agreed a fine was suitable and agreed with the figure that the defence submitted, given the practical and logistical difficulties.

The prosecution did not seek a compensation order.

For public nuisance, Maximilien could have been jailed for up to three months, fined up to S$2,000, or both.