SINGAPORE: She may be the prime candidate to replace dethroned beauty queen Ris Low, but unless she is threatened with a lawsuit by the contest organisers, Ms Claire Lee, the first runner-up in this year's beleaguered Miss Singapore-World contest, will not represent Singapore at the Miss World finals.
This, after the pageant-pals-turned-foes had a public spat over how the media had sniffed out 19-year-old Miss Low's conviction for credit card fraud in May this year.
The latter had claimed that Ms Lee, 23, had told on her, and had faked a back injury to "save face" in case she was not selected as the replacement.
Choking back sobs as she revealed her decision to MediaCorp over the phone yesterday, Ms Lee said: "I'm being accused of things I didn't do. People now think I did it to take the title, but that's not true ... I don't want to be involved anymore."
Asked about her contractual obligations, Ms Lee said: "I don't intend to represent Singapore unless ERM threatens to sue me."
The Nanyang Technological University aerospace engineering graduate said she has not informed pageant organisers ERM World Marketing about her decision.
When contacted yesterday, ERM events director Tracy Lee declined to comment on the status of the selection for Ms Low's replacement or on Ms Lee's decision, and only said that an announcement would be made when the company is "ready".
ERM had earlier said in a press statement that it will hold interviews to determine the new representative - although other pageant organisers say it is industry practice for the first runner-up to assume the title in an event where the winner is unable to represent the country.
MediaCorp understands the finalist has to leave Nov 15 for the finals in South Africa.
With the pageant's top two out of the running, whether Singapore will have a representative this year is anybody's guess given that one month may be too short a period for a contestant to prepare adequately.
As for second runner-up, Ms Pilar Arlando, 19, she did not respond to phone calls yesterday, while the other two women in the Top Five, Ms Sonia Sawlani, 23, and Ms Oxy Ong, 20, confirmed they have not been called up for interviews yet.
When told of Ms Lee's pulling out yesterday, her erstwhile friend Ms Low said: "I don't care and I have nothing to say."
"I'll be graduating in January, then I'll take some time to enjoy life ... Two years later, hopefully Singapore will forget all this and I can step on the stage again. I like to be a shining star, the centre of attraction."
Source: Channel NewsAsia
Tue Oct 06, 2009 12:22 pm