VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese model Phan Hoang Thu was in the top ten contestants and won the Miss Southeast Asia in the beauty contest, which took place on December 31 in Malaysia. However, she could be fined for attending the pageant without the Ministry of Culture’s permission.

Phan Hoang Thu, 1.72m high, 89-60-89 in body measurement, won the Gold Award of the Searching Future Model 2012 competition and ranked 8th at the Asian Supermodel contest 2013 in China. However, Thu did not meet criteria for representing Vietnam at international pageants, set by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (must be in the top 3 of national beauty contests).

Phan Hoang Thu participated in the Miss World Tourism without the authorities’ permission.

Mr. Nguyen Dang Chuong - Department of the Performing Arts - said he had asked for verification of the case to decide the penalty on Phan Hoang Thu. Thu also admitted the violation and is willing to accept any penalty.

In 2013, two models - Que Van and Kim Duyen – also participated in international beauty pageant without permission. They had to pay fine of VND15 million ($700).

The Miss World Tourism 2013 was the competition of 60 girls. The winner is a representative from the Philippines - Angeli Dione Gomez, 20 years old. The first runner is Sunidporn Srisuwan (Thailand) and the 2nd runner is Sarah Czarnuch (Australia). This is the 17th contest held in Kuala Lumpur ahead of the New Year.

T. Van