SINGAPORE : Freedom for Fay

Michael P. Fay, the American teen-ager who became the focus of a worldwide debate about crime and punishment when he was sentenced to be caned for vandalism, is being released from prison today.

Fay is being turned loose early from his four-month prison sentence because of good behavior. In March, he was sentenced to jail, six strokes with a rattan cane and a $2,230 fine after pleading guilty to spray-painting cars and other acts of mischief. Two months later, the Singapore government reduced the caning sentence to four strokes as a gesture to President Clinton, who intervened on Fay’s behalf.

The case continues to draw controversy. When Singapore offered to host a meeting of the World Trade Organization last month , U.S. Trade Representative Mickey Kantor opposed the move and hinted strongly that his position was based in part in retaliation for the caning.