He licked a straw, he faces prison. A tourist had a run-in with the law in Singapore

A French 18-year-old faces a total sentence of two years in prison for licking a straw from an orange juice dispenser and putting it back into the machine, CNN reported on Tuesday. Located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, Singapore is known for its strict laws.

Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, who attends ESSEC Business School in Singapore, posted a video of the incident on Instagram. He titled it “The city is not safe” (Singapore is one of the safest cities in the world – PAP).

The Singapore justice system accuses him of two offenses for which the sentence can be added. One of them is acting to the detriment of the company, which, as a result, was forced to replace the entire stock of straws at the dispenser, and the second one was disturbing public order. If convicted of both charges, Maximilien could face up to two years and three months in prison, as well as a fine.

Frenchman Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, was charged in Singapore with joking and disorderly conduct after he licked a straw from an iJooz vending machine and put it back. The company replaced 500 straws and carried out a sanitary inspection. He faces a fine or imprisonment. pic.twitter.com/f2D52WmfiM

— Patryk Kulpok (@PKulpok) April 27, 2026

From flogging for graffiti to imprisonment for a straw

This is not the first time a foreign teenager has run afoul of Singapore's strict regulations, CNN noted.

One of the most famous cases took place in 1993, when American Michael Fay was arrested for spray painting cars. He was sentenced to four months in prison and flogging.

After international publicity and the intervention of the then US president the penalty was reduced from six to four strokes. The flogging was carried out despite strong pressure from Washington. The Singaporean authorities argued that national law should also be applied to foreigners.

Foreigners trapped by Singapore regulations

Tourism boards are reminding Western tourists visiting Singapore that vaping is completely illegal there. Simply possessing an e-cigarette can result in a fine of 700 Singapore dollars.

Smoking traditional cigarettes is allowed outdoors only in marked locations. Possession of even small amounts of marijuana or synthetic drugs can result in long-term prison sentences and mandatory caning. Drug trafficking is punishable by death. Crossing the street outside the lanes and littering are severely punished. (PAP)

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