French teen faces two years in prison for licking vending machine straw in Singapore

Key Points:

• An 18-year-old French student in Singapore faces up to two years in prison after allegedly licking a straw in an orange juice vending machine and placing it back, an act recorded and shared on social media that sparked an official investigation.
• He has been charged with public nuisance, punishable by up to three months in jail or a fine, and mischief, which carries a maximum two-year jail term, a fine, or both; his bail was set at 5,000 Singapore dollars.
• The incident led the vending machine operator, IJOOZ, to replace all 500 straws in the affected machine, highlighting the financial and reputational impact of the act.
• The teenager studies at the Singapore campus of the French Essec Business School, which has expressed support for him and is in contact with his family, but refrained from further comment due to ongoing legal proceedings.
• This case echoes Singapore’s history of strict law enforcement on foreigners, notably the 1993 Michael Fay case involving vandalism and corporal punishment, which underscored the country’s commitment to upholding its laws regardless of international pressure.