According to a report by a specialist in Civil and Criminal Justice in the Middle East, two Singaporeans were arrested in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), specifically Abu Dhabi, for "looking feminine".

The two were apparently sentenced to one year jail term on Aug. 21.

According to the report by Radha Stirling, one is identified as a man, and the other a pre-operative transgender woman.

However, the pre-op transgender woman is listed as a man in his passport.

Work trip

The pair are believed to have been in Abu Dhabi on a professional capacity, specifically to work on a photo shoot.

It is also believed that they were arrested at a shopping mall.

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It is not yet known what exactly they were charged with, but going by the term "looking feminine", it might have something to do with the country's cross-dressing law.

The UAE has extremely strict laws regarding cross-dressing, transgenderism, and homosexuality.

They have 14 days to appeal the sentence.

We have reached out to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a statement.

*Update*

A New Paper report shed more light onto the story.

The family of one of the man has already reached out to authorities, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the embassy for assistance.

The 2 of them were allegedly buying lunch in the mall when they were caught.

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