News Digest

'I didn't have implants': Beauty queen refuses to return tiara after row

A Burmese beauty queen is refusing to return her US$99,550 tiara after pageant organisers accused her of lying about whether she had breast implants. May Myat Noe, 18, reportedly disappeared with the crown after Miss Asia Pacific World organisers arranged to give her plastic surgery. Pageant organisers say one of the goals of the event is to turn contest winners into actresses, pop stars and world-class models by changing their looks. And pageant director David Kim said Noe was provided with a breast enhancement free of charge after winning the contest; a claim she denies.

We thought she should be more beautiful, so we sent her to the hospital to operate on her breasts.

David Kim, Pageant director

Kim added the teenager was stripped of her title and “dethroned” because she was dishonest and unappreciative—and that she absconded with her bejewelled crown. Noe has demanded an apology “to rectify the damage they have done to the integrity of my country”. She said she flew back to Myanmar before realising organisers had decided to remove her title. It has also been claimed there was disagreement over who was supposed to manage Noe’s career, with both her mother and event organisers wanting control.

I was put under duress to undergo head-to-toe cosmetic surgery which I refused … I didn’t have breast implants, but I don’t want to go into details, to preserve my dignity.

May Myat Noe, beauty queen