SHE was a beauty who became a beast who returned not only a beauty, but a beauty queen.

In her quest to be recognised for her looks and talent, Ms Joannabelle Ng Li Vun picked a trick which she thought would help her win a beauty pageant in June last year: A fire-eating stunt.

The stunt went terribly awry. Her face caught fire, leaving her scarred from second-degree burns.

Family, friends and observers thought it spelt the end of her career as a model and beauty queen.

She proved them wrong.

After spending a year recovering, she took the plunge back into the spotlight.

She entered the Miss Malaysia Universe 2009 pageant - and won.

Glamour shots of Ms Ng, who was crowned Miss Malaysia Universe 2009 in May, are a stark contrast to pictures of her lying in a hospital bed with her face in bandages.

She went from tears to cheers. 'I felt my world was over,' she told The New Paper on Sunday via e-mail, recalling the accident.

'I was depressed for a year. The pain felt worse than the disfigurement.'

She is now in the Bahamas, where she is preparing for the Miss Universe 2009 pageant on 23 Aug.

Recalling the accident last year, the 21-year-old full-time model from Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, said she had trained and practised thoroughly to perform the fire-eating act for the talent search segment of the contest, which she declined to name.

'I personally chose it. I thought I'd try to be different. I was the only one doing that type of performance. No one else did something like that,' she said.

But, during the actual performance, her hand slipped and the fire spread to her face, neck and hands.

The horrified audience watched as Ms Ng tried to smother her face. She rolled on the stage floor before losing consciousness.

'I don't remember much of the incident before I lost consciousness. I only recall the excruciating pain on my face and the feeling of being severely burnt,' she told Malaysia's Feminine Magazine in an earlier interview.

Bandaged and in pain

'When I regained consciousness, I was in a hospital bed and bandaged up.'

The fire had left her with second-degree burns to her face and neck.

Her beauty marred, Ms Ng initially thought her days as a beauty queen and full-time model were over.

Doctors had told her the burns would leave scars.

The pageant organisers paid her a few thousand dollars as compensation.

For Ms Ng, however, the compensation was not important because she had insurance coverage.

It was later discovered that the accident had occurred because the pageant organiser made a mistake in providing the wrong type of kerosene that Ms Ng needed for her fire-eating act.

This sparked speculation that it was an act of sabotage by others who wanted to ruin her chances of winning.

When asked, Ms Ng said she wasn't aware of the rumours and that it had never crossed her mind that it was an act of spite. She said she got along well with the other contestants.

In her depression immediately after the accident, she had thought of giving up on life. But strong support from her family boosted her spirits and made her determined to recover and get well.

To help prevent permanent scarring, doctors cleaned and dressed her wounds daily during her month-long stay in the hospital.

While Ms Ng's face still bears slight scarring from her ordeal, they are hardly visible under her make-up.

She decided to take part in the Miss Malaysia Universe pageant this year to regain her confidence.

And she not only took the tiara, but was named the 'Audience's Favourite' and won the 'Miss Friendship' title.

Detractors claimed she won because of sympathy votes from judges after the story of her ordeal was made known.

But Ms Ng, who won RM50,000 ($20,500) and other prizes along with her crown, feels otherwise. She said it was the pageant organiser who suggested she share her story to encourage and motivate others.

She credits her winning the Miss Malaysia Universe crown to support from her parents and her current beau, a pilot whom she declined to name.

He had stood by her after her accident. Their relationship began after Ms Ng's former boyfriend of three years left her, following her accident.

Ms Ng said her perspective on love and life has been shaped by her experience.

'Be happy; life is too short for us to sit and cry over the past and things that we don't get.

'Appreciate things at hand, people who you are with, and don't cry over what is lost.'

She seems to have struck a chord with the Malaysian public.

'It's not about sympathy votes,' said Miss Lee Lai Yin, 31, an account manager in Kuala Lumpur, referring to the judges' decision.

Stand-out story

'Hers is a true story and it makes her stand out from the other contestants. What is wrong with that?'

'Anyway, we have had past contestants who weren't very pretty, but Joannabelle looks good and her beauty is beyond skin-deep. I am proud to have someone like that representing our country,' added Miss Lee.

Another Malaysian, Mr Teh Kim Yew, 31, a business development manager, said that at first he wondered if she had won because of sympathy votes. He later changed his mind.

'The fact that she dared to take part in the contest and even win the title shows that she won on her own merit,' said Mr Teh.

He added that it wasn't important whether she won the Miss Universe 2009 title or not. 'What is more important is her story can be shared and can inspire others.

'Beauty contests these days are about beauty and brains, but brains are not necessarily about academic achievements. It can come from the school of life, and Joannabelle, even at 21, definitely has much more experience than the other more educated contestants.'

Indeed, her lack of paper qualifications - she has secondary school education - is affecting Ms Ng's confidence as she gears up for the next big battle of her life, the Miss Universe 2009 contest, she said.

Her humble family background also makes her feel inferior to her rivals from around the world.

Her father is a car mechanic while her mother grows vegetables to sell at the market.

And then there is her poor command of English. She is working on improving her English in time for the pageant finals on 23 Aug.

And, just as she has done before, she intends to overcome the obstacles - and beat the odds.

This article was first published in The New Paper.