Claire Lee - New Miss Singapore - Miss World ?

From: beng1 <5191 ...="" gmail.com="">
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 2009 07:01:35 -0700 (PDT)
Local: Tues, Oct 6 2009 10:01 pm
Subject: Claire Lee - New Miss Singapore / Miss World ?

Claire Lee: “I don’t intend to represent Singapore unless ERM
threatens to sue me.”

October 6, 2009 by Manisha

Ms Claire Lee, the first runner-up for Miss Singapore- World may be
the prime candidate to replace dethroned beauty queen Ris Low, but
unless she is threatened with a lawsuit by the contest organisers.
She will not represent Singapore at the Miss World finals.

She gave the statement after 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.

Miss Low 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.

On this accusation 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.”

Ms Lee is aerospace engineering graduate from Nanyang Technological
University.

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.

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.