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[–] 47 points 6 months ago* (19 children)

ok, so it's not as simple as the headline makes it seem:

A French teenager who allegedly licked a straw from an orange juice vending machine and put it back into its dispenser has been charged with committing mischief and being a public nuisance in Singapore.
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Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, had posted on Instagram a video of himself performing the act, according to local reports. The video was later widely circulated.

The company that owns the vending machine, iJooz, says it replaced all 500 straws in the machine's dispenser after the alleged incident.
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Maximilien had posted his video as an Instagram Story with a caption stating "city is not safe", according to news reports.

Many online had reacted with disgust to his video, which was reposted on a community page and picked up by local news outlets.

ok, so he didn't just "lick a straw". the little asshole did it as some sort of viral video trend going around doing public nuisance bullshit for likes and views, posted it online, then got caught. womp-womp.

it cost the vending machine company to send someone out to replace all the straws and deal with people being upset about the sanitary aspect (asian countries freak out about that sort of thing more than western countries), and it was a whole public thing.

now, do I think 2 years in jail is fair? no. a big fine and a big public apology (esp on his TikTok or Insta or whatever) should be enough. but this is Singapore, so he's lucky they aren't caning him to death.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago (6 children)

    For rich ppl, only jail time makes any difference. But maybe the big fine + 30 days.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago (5 children)

    But maybe the big fine

    percentage of wealth/income (both?)

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago (4 children)

    Yeah that works if you can get it. Like that one time Finland fined the CEO of Nokia.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (3 children)
  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago (6 children)

    I guess to the authorities, he's going to be the one licked straw that makes 500 other twerpy teens throw out their plans to pull similar pranks.

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  • [–] 10 points 6 months ago* (5 children)

    I get the whole "make an example of him" concept, but that can be accomplished by forcing him to embarrass himself publicly to all of his dipshit followers on social media. 2 years in jail seems excessive. other social media "pranksters" have been jailed for far worse.

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  • [–] 14 points 6 months ago (3 children)

    Giving them attention is exactly what they are seeking. Jail is ideal, can't make content in there and kills the momentum of their channel.

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    I'm not arguing against any jail time; I just think that 2 years is excessive.

    Giving them attention is exactly what they are seeking.

    this is highly dependent on the person-- embarrassing them publicly in front of all their fans could be very effective, although they could be one of those people for whom any attention is positive reinforcement (especially if they do this bullshit). so, you're probably correct in this instance.

    one of the things I hate most (on a very long list) about social media is that it has stripped kids of any sort of social shame. on one hand, it's great for people like LGBTQ+ kids and neurodivergent kids and other "others" in giving them the feeling that they can be themselves, a sense of community... but it's also normalized assholes by giving them feeling they can be themselves, too. it's given those fuckers community. dammit .

    I guess you have to take the good with the bad, eh?

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago* (1 child)

    I don't know about having to take anything bad. Social media needs more regulation.

    IMO nuisance streamers should be fined on top of whatever sentence they receive, and so should the platform. The streamer should also be forcibly demonetized for a period of time commensurate to the offense.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago*

    ok, now I feel old, because that didn't immediately occur to me. but, yes--

    in fact, an entire legal framework should be set up to force reporting on exactly how much the account holder and the company each profited so that each can be adequately fined for this transgression. certainly the data exists because the calculation was made for the payout. therefore the records exist somewhere. the decades of failure in accountability falls to the legislature for failing to craft a sufficient legal framework for such accountability and then to the judiciary for then failing to hold the responsible parties accountable.

    at lea$t. in the United $tate$, it'$ pretty clear why that'$ the ca$e...

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  • [–] 20 points 6 months ago (8 children)

    What a silly boy.

    But 2 years in prison is beyond ridiculous.

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  • [–] 12 points 6 months ago (2 children)

    That's a max possible sentence, but then it's also authoritarian hellhole Singapore that executes people for moderate-level drug crimes, so we'll see how it plays out.

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  • [–] 9 points 6 months ago* (1 child)

    It’s worth remembering that many colonial powers controlled their Asian subjects via drugs so there is a relevant cultural context for why those crimes are treated this harshly. In general Singapore has more focus on „freedom to live” than „freedom to consume” too.

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  • [–] 8 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    It says that the charge carries that as a maximum, not that that's what he'll get. While i also think two years would be excessive, I absolutely think this moron should be punished severely, if only just to deter all the other morons from pulling shit like this for clicks.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago

    Maximum penalties in the United States Draconian themselves, almost nobody gets the maximum, but for instance if you have a valid driver's license but forgot your wallet, 90 days in jail. Publishing a bad check? 15 years in prison.

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  • [–] 5 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago)

    Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien, 18, had posted on Instagram a video of himself performing the act, according to local reports. The video was later widely circulated.

    With a name like that you know his parents were never there and thought that pouring money into him was love

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  • [–] 4 points 6 months ago (1 child)

    „Didier Gaspard Owen Maximilien„ . I hope this is only the birth names and that no one call him that.

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  • [–] 3 points 6 months ago

    i expect more from the french, i would expect this to be a brit, chinese, or american tourist.

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago (5 children)

    Lol. I guess if you piss on the street you get shot then? 🤣🤣 Such hypocrites, its a bit of saliva on a straw. The world is going nuts.

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  • [–] 9 points 6 months ago (4 children)

    Would you still be laughing if the person doing this has syphilis, gonorrhea, or anything like that?

    There a a very good reason why it's strictly forbidden to tamper with food, especially when it comes to bodily liquids

    If you're fine with that anyway, you mind if I cum I your milk, then?

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  • [–] 2 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (2 children)

    The fact is, the dickhead probably didn't have any of those, otherwise we would've known from the article.

    Putting others at risk is a far more serious offence that deserves harsh punishment, but this is not what happened here. Prison is grotesque. Community service, being expelled from school would have given the kid the lesson they deserve.

    If you'd spit in my milk, while I do think that deserves to be handled by the courts, I don't think it'd be appropriate to put you in prison.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    During Covid there was this toktok(??) trend to lick food and put it back on the shelves in stores

    People were jailed for that, iirc, because it was tampering with food. Rightfully so, if you ask me. If I get sick from bacterias.on your body, it might potentially even kill me. You think that is okay? There is a good reason why we are so careful with food, not to mention that it's just fucking disrespectful and gross.

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    Title reads from "not the onion", actual content explains that it's your typical brain rotten tiktoker behaving like an asshole for internet fame and money. I don't think he'll get the whole 2 years, all I can hope is that he drops that shitty behavior instead of going "I've learned my lesson, I'll only be a public nuisance in countries that won't even slap me on the wrist"

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  • [–] 1 point 6 months ago

    With a name like that I'd be a menace as well.

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