Teen accused of licking iJooz straw back in S’pore after overseas trip, case adjourned to June 26
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Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien at the State Courts on April 29. He was allowed to leave Singapore for a school-related trip to the Philippines in May.
ST PHOTO: KELVIN CHNG
SINGAPORE – A teenager accused of licking a straw from a vending machine before putting it back has returned to Singapore after an overseas trip, and his case has been adjourned to June 26.
French national Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, had been allowed to leave Singapore for a school-related trip to the Philippines in May.
Defence lawyer Kanthan Raghavendra of Kalidass Law Corporation had said in April that the trip was a requirement for him to graduate.
Maximilien, a student at ESSEC Business School located at one-north, was expected to be away from May 2 to 25.
On April 24, he was charged with committing mischief and being a public nuisance.
He allegedly committed the offences at Goldhill Centre in Thomson Road on or around March 12.
Maximilien allegedly licked a straw from an iJooz machine before putting it back in the straw dispenser. He allegedly filmed himself doing it and uploaded the clip on social media.
Court documents stated that iJooz, known for its vending machines that serve freshly squeezed orange juice, had to replace all 500 straws in the dispenser after the alleged incident.
The video surfaced online on March 12 and went viral, sparking shock and concern among netizens.
For committing mischief, an offender can be jailed for up to two years, fined or both.
The punishment for being a public nuisance is a jail term of up to three months, a fine of up to $2,000 or both.
