UAE prison time dropped for transgender Singaporean, friend
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A transgender Singaporean and her friend facing a year in prison in the United Arab Emirates for dressing in a feminine way have seen their sentences reduced to a fine and deportation.
That's according to an official involved in negotiations over the fate of the two who spoke to The Associated Press on Monday.
A separate report Monday in The National, a state-linked newspaper in Abu Dhabi, quoted an unnamed Emirati official also saying the two would merely face a fine of 10,000 dirhams — about $2,270 — and deportation.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Nur Qistina Fitriah Ibrahim, a transgender woman who has not undergone a sex-change operation, and her friend, freelance fashion photographer Muhammad Fadli Bin Abdul Rahman, were arrested at Abu Dhabi's Yas Mall on Aug. 9.
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Liang reported from Singapore.