Some good news has emerged out of the dreadful affair involving a Singaporean man and a trans woman in Abu Dhabi, who were recently sentenced to a year in jail each for the apparent crime of “impersonating a woman”.
First, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has issued an official statement in an update of the situation. Officials from the Singapore Embassy met up with 26-year-old Muhammad Fadli Bin Abdul Rahman and 37-year-old Nur Qistina Fitriah Ibrahim four times since their arrest to “ensure their continued well-being” during custody.
“The Embassy will continue to provide the necessary consular assistance and has been closely monitoring developments to ensure that due process is accorded to them,” MFA wrote, adding that it’s in close contact with the pair’s families in Singapore.
MFA also took the time to remind Singaporeans about the importance of abiding by local laws when traveling overseas. Cross-dressing, transgenderism and homosexuality are considered crimes in the United Arab Emirates — Qistina is in the process of transitioning into a woman, but her passport still states her gender as “male”. As for Fadli, he mentioned that he was arrested by the police for wearing a tie and ear rings.
The fundraising campaign set up yesterday to cover the legal costs of appealing against their sentence has also concluded to great success. According to the Facebook group Free Fad and Fifi, they’ve since hit the target of SGD25,000 with another SGD600 to spare. Local activist Vanesso Ho, who’s leading the efforts to assist the two, has assured that they’re in talks with remittance agencies to make sure the money gets where it needs to be so lawyers can start working on the case.
Fadli and Qistina will be able to file an appeal on Sept 4 — 15 days after their sentence was passed.
