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Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien appeared before the court at Goldhill Centre where he admitted to the charge, according to a BBC report on the proceedings. Both the prosecution and defense had recommended a fine rather than any jail time for the offense, with the court accepting that position on July 30. Maximilien’s lawyer told the court the student was truly sorry for the trouble caused and had come to realize the consequences of his actions, the proceedings showed. The case had been postponed from July 13 so prosecutors could determine whether a conviction would cancel his student pass and affect his studies at a local business school, an Associated Press dispatch from earlier in the month stated.
The incident occurred when Maximilien licked a straw from the orange juice dispenser at a shopping mall, returned it to the machine and uploaded the clip to Instagram along with a caption about the city not being safe, the Guardian reported. The video spread rapidly on social media, generating intense public outrage over the hygiene implications for other users of the common vending machines, according to coverage in DW. iJooz, which operates around 1,500 machines across Singapore as of early 2025, subsequently filed a police report, Channel News Asia detailed in its account of the charge sheet.
The company replaced all 500 straws in the affected machine at a total cost of S$5, a figure included in the prosecution documents cited by Channel News Asia. Fresh juice from the iJooz dispensers typically sells for about S$2 per cup and can be found in malls, train stations and residential blocks throughout the city-state, the operator has noted in public statements. Public reaction focused heavily on the perceived risks in shared facilities, with numerous online comments reflecting disgust at the stunt, multiple regional outlets including Al Jazeera reported at the time of the video’s circulation.
Singapore law sets the maximum penalty for public nuisance at a S$2,000 fine, three months in jail or both, according to the charge sheet referenced across reports from the Straits Times and the BBC. Maximilien had also faced an initial count of mischief, which can carry up to two years in prison, though the final sentencing addressed the nuisance offense with the agreed fine, court records show. The teen remained free on bail throughout the months-long process and was permitted to continue his education while the matter was pending, an Associated Press update from mid-July confirmed.
The episode illustrates enforcement of public order regulations in a densely populated nation that has long prioritized communal hygiene standards, a pattern documented in coverage by Reuters on Singapore’s legal framework. Similar viral prank videos have prompted swift police action and prosecutions in recent years, according to legal summaries published by regional news services. iJooz emphasized customer reassurance through its immediate response to the incident, the company said in statements carried by local media.
Prosecutors had expressed interest in reviewing the impact of any conviction on Maximilien’s immigration status before settling on the fine, Channel News Asia reported from the earlier hearing. The final penalty avoids broader disruption for the student who has been pursuing business studies in Singapore since before the March incident. Authorities continue to handle such cases through the courts with an emphasis on deterrence in shared public spaces, according to patterns outlined in judicial overviews from the past year.
