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SINGAPORE: A French teenager facing criminal charges in Singapore for a straw-licking stunt will enter a plea next month in a case that went viral on social media, a court heard on Friday (Jun 26).<\/p>\n
Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, who turned 19 on Thursday, is accused of posting to social media a video of himself putting a straw he had licked back into the dispenser on an iJooz vending machine.<\/span><\/p>\n His clip went viral and triggered a backlash that led to his arrest in Singapore.<\/p>\n His lawyer told a district court on Friday that his client – who was not present at the hearing – would enter a plea on the afternoon of Jul 13. Court documents indicate the case has been fixed for a guilty plea.<\/p>\n Maximilien, who is studying in Singapore, is out on bail. The court had, in late April, allowed him to leave Singapore for a three-week internship in Manila, a requirement for him to graduate. He has since returned.<\/p>\n The teen had uploaded the video on Instagram knowing that it “would or would probably cause annoyance to the public”, according to court documents detailing the charges.<\/p>\n A second charge of committing mischief said Maximilien knew that he was “likely to cause wrongful loss or damage” to iJooz. The orange juice vending company\u00a0<\/span>had to replace all 500 straws in the dispenser.<\/p>\n Both offences were allegedly committed on Mar 12.<\/p>\n