The Daily Populous Sunday May 3rd, 2026 evening edition
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — A French teen is facing mischief and public nuisance charges in Singapore after posting a video on social media of himself licking a straw from an orange juice vending machine and then putting it back.

Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, was charged April 24 and hasn’t entered a plea, the city-state’s largest English-language newspaper, The Straits Times, said. He allegedly committed the offense at a shopping mall on March 12, and his video spread rapidly when it surfaced, the report said.

The teen was granted court permission Wednesday to travel to Manila from May 2-25 for a school trip required for his graduation, the Straits Times said. He is due back in court on May 29.

Mischief carries a penalty of up to two years in prison or a fine, or both, while public nuisance is less severe with up to three months in prison or a fine, or both.

IJooz, the company operating the juice vending machine, filed a police report, and sanitized the dispenser while replacing all 500 straws in the machine. It said it would upgrade its machines to include measures such as individually packaged straws and straw compartments that unlock only after the transaction is completed.

Lawyers for the teen, who is studying in a French business school in Singapore, declined to comment on the case when contacted.

Singapore, a small, densely populated city-state, tightly regulates public behavior and cleanliness. This includes restrictions like limits on chewing gum and strong penalties for littering and vandalism.

HatePeopleLoveCats1 on May 2nd, 2026 at 20:51 UTC »

Why the fuck do people do this??? It’s just gross. Like during the pandemic when some idiots were licking ice cream and putting it back. Or the lady that washes her underwear in a coffee machine 🤮 Just stop being a disgusting person

csonnich on May 2nd, 2026 at 19:38 UTC »

That's really gross of him.

But also seems like a design flaw. You shouldn't be able to put things back into vending machines.

buttchugreferee on May 2nd, 2026 at 19:27 UTC »

are they still caning people over there?

Singapore is not a place I would fuck around in.