Teens, being teens, will do some dumb shit. And Gen Z teens, being more addicted to screens and more likely to venerate the stupid influencer culture they grew up with than any prior generation, will often do that aforementioned dumb shit in the pursuit of viral online viewership and affirmation. One would hope, however, that when those Gen Z teens are also tourists or international students, they would do a bare modicum of research about whether their dumb online pranks are likely to land them in prison when they try them in a notoriously strict locale such as Singapore. One imagines that France’s 18-year-old Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien is wishing he’d done a bit more research on that front right about now, considering that he faces the prospect of two years or more in prison over a quick clip of him … licking a straw and then putting the now hideously soiled straw back inside a vending machine.
The only natural response to that prior sentence is probably something along the lines of “Huh?” or “Wait, what?” But that’s Singapore for you: The wealthy island nation south of the tip of Malaysia enjoys Asia’s highest level of GDP-per-capita, but backs up its self-sought image of a clean, highly disciplined society with frequently brutal, harsh punishment (including public canings and capital punishment) for infractions by both its own citizenry and ignorant visitors. That has been the case since it achieved its independence in 1965, with a drive for strict social order and zero tolerance for infractions of the often draconian laws governing public life and antisocial behavior.
Many tourists have found this out the hard way over the decades–most famously, in the case of American Michael Fay, who was arrested in 1993 and accused of vandalizing a series of cars with spray paint, being subsequently sentenced to four months in prison and six strokes of the cane. The case became a media sensation abroad, with members of the American media incensed by the idea of a U.S. citizen being caned by a foreign government, an idea that would go on to clearly inspire the next year’s Simpsons episode “Bart vs. Australia.” The whole thing became an international snafu for President Bill Clinton’s administration, as they were unable to argue the Singaporean government down from carrying out the sentence, though they generously reduced the number of cane strokes from six to four (gee, thanks!). The State Department’s protests fell on deaf ears, and Fay received his caning.
If anything, though, Singapore’s punishments have only continued to grow more severe as the years have gone on. For example, the use of vapes and e-cigarettes is expressly banned, with recently increased penalties that range up to $10,000 for simply being caught with a single vape, and involve many years of jail time for actually selling a vape. Vandalism continues to be punished harshly, with mandatory caning sentences and multiple years in jail for crimes such as political graffiti or street art. Acts as small as littering a small piece of trash or not flushing a public toilet can result in on-the-spot fines assessed by police. Even being seen in the nude by a member of the public in your home or hotel room because you forgot to draw the curtains can result in public indecency charges.
A French teenager is facing up to two years in a Singapore prison after he allegedly licked a straw in an orange juice vending machine – then placed it back in the dispenser.
https://cnn.it/49094y9— CNN (@cnn.com) Apr 28, 2026 at 5:30 AM
So with that said, it’s perhaps no surprise that the Singaporean government would aggressively go after 18-year-old French student Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien as a result of a very dumb, very ill-advised video he posted on social media of himself nefariously compromising an orange juice vending machine in March. Specifically, he is accused of removing a straw from the machine, licking that sole straw, and then replacing it back into the machine, an act of defiance so inconsequential that the thought of assessing a punishment for it feels inherently comical. This week, he was charged with two counts: “public nuisance,” which carries a three month prison sentence or fine, and the more serious “mischief,” which carries a sentence of up to two years in prison, but seemingly no caning at least. Graciously, the Singaporean government did say he could travel to Manila in May for a school trip that is required for his graduation, rather than simply being held in jail until his next late May court date. Will he be trailed by court agents to stop him from say, fleeing back to France so he’s not prosecuted for the world’s lamest attempt at influencer provocation?
I have to say, there’s something darkly comical about the way that the companies involved in the case hold themselves with an air of genuine grievance, as if a licked straw deeply threatened the social fabric. IJooz, the company operating the orange juice vending machine, first filed the police report after the video went viral, and reported to the court that it had not only sanitized the dispenser and replaced all 500 of its straws, but would also “upgrade its machines to include measures such as individually packaged straws and straw compartments that unlock only after the transaction was completed.” Citizens of Singapore will no doubt feel blessed to have a company truly working hard to prevent a copycat criminal mastermind from exploiting the same vulnerabilities.
Suffice to say, the incident can’t help but stand out for the glaring disparity between a profoundly stupid but practically harmless offense and the very real, cartoonishly severe consequences that Singapore wants to dole out in response. This is not a situation like that of influencer Ramsey Khalid Ismael, aka “Johnny Somali,” a professional American troll and livestreamer who purposefully enraged the South Korean government and public with stupid antics that included kissing statues dedicated to women forced into wartime sexual slavery. Ismael was recently sentenced to six months in prison in South Korea on a wide array of charges that included the distribution of sexual deepfakes, and he was still facing merely 25% of the potential jail time of the 18-year-old French student who, might I remind you, licked a straw. Can you imagine what would have gone down if “Johnny Somali” had tried any of that shit in Singapore? What’s the maximum number of cane strokes that a human body can endure?
YouTube influencer Johnny Somali receives 6-month prison sentence in South Korea – WFTV
SEOUL, South Korea — A U.S. YouTube influencer known as Johnny Somali was sentenced to six months in…
— EUROPE SAYS (@europesays.bsky.social) Apr 16, 2026 at 1:15 PM
So yeah: If you’re an international student or tourist visiting a locale such as Singapore, it would behoove you to brush up on the local law and potential pitfalls in advance. And maybe, just maybe, hold off on social media stunts while you’re there. With a State Department as incompetent and uncaring as ours, there’s no telling how long you could end up behind bars.
