THE Miss Singapore World pageant organiser has finally broken its silence over the Ris Low Yi Min credit card fraud controversy.

An official said the firm did not know of the crime until the media broke the news.

If that is true, it casts a further shadow on the character of the reigning Miss Singapore World.

It would mean that she has been lying to the media about whether she had revealed her offence to the organiser, ERM World Marketing.

Lianhe Wanbao quoted her as saying on Friday that she had done so before the pageant finals and was told it was okay as long as no one found out.

Later that day, in an interview with The New Paper, she came up with a different version. She claimed she told ERM only after she won the title on 31 Jul - about two months after she was convicted of five charges of criminal misappropriation involving credit cards and sentenced to 24 months of probation.

The 19-year-old claimed she didn't know 'it was part of the contract' and that the organisers were 'shocked and angry' when they heard about it.

Now it looks like neither may be true.

Yesterday, Ms Tracy Lee, event director at ERM, told The New Paper that they had learnt of her conviction only when My Paper reported it on Friday.

Meanwhile, Ris' status as Miss Singapore World 2009 hangs in the balance.

In a statement yesterday, Ms Lee said the company had yet to reach a decision on whether Ris would be allowed to retain her title.

She said ERM would come to a decision 'later in the week', after considering all information relevant to the case.

'We are also seeking legal advice,' she said in the statement.

She declined to comment further. Repeated calls to Ris' handphone yesterday went unanswered.

One thing is clear: The terms and conditions on the Miss Singapore World website specify that pageant contestants must not have been charged or convicted in any court of law in any country, must not be a fugitive or be wanted by any law enforcement agency.

There is also some confusion as to whether Ris' 24-month supervised probation sentence equates to a conviction.

Local criminal lawyers The New Paper spoke to were divided on this issue.

Lawyer Bina Garan of Thomas Tham & Co maintained that probation was equivalent to a conviction, because conviction simply meant to be 'found guilty'.

'It's a criminal record, because probation is still a punishment,' he said.

'Even if Miss Low successfully completed the probation period, the record would still be around.'

However, other criminal lawyers felt otherwise.

'The records are only within the court, and probation is considered an antecedent, not a conviction with any criminal record,' said lawyer Gloria James from Hoh Law Corporation.

She cited Section 11 of the Probation of Offenders Act, which states that a conviction for an offence which places the offender on probation would not be considered a conviction for any purpose other than for proceedings in which the order is made, and any subsequent proceedings which may be taken against the offender.

In light of this, Miss James said she believes Ris did not 'fail to disclose anything', because she has no criminal record to speak of.

'The beauty of probation is that it gives people a second chance,' she added.

Lawyer Amerjeet Singh from Hoh Law Corporation added that Miss Low can be considered 'charged', but 'not convicted', if questioned by prospective employers.

The New Paper tried to clarify this with the Subordinate Courts, but could not get a response by press time.

Several people, including netizens and former beauty queens, have questioned whether someone with a blemished record is fit to represent Singapore in the Miss World finals in South Africa in December.

Others were more forgiving, saying she should be given a second chance.

Even before her credit card fraud came to light, Ris had been mocked and scorned by netizens over her diction and poor English.

Differing criteria

Other national-level Miss World pageants do not have a consistent set of eligibility criteria for contestants.

Some pageants, such as Miss World Canada and Miss Cayman Islands, specify that contestants must not have a criminal record.

Others, like Miss England, are less specific, stating only that a contestant must be a 'person whose background is not likely to bring disrepute to the Miss England Contest'.

Likewise, the Miss Thailand World pageant specifies that it has the right to strip a winner of her title if she has records of 'illegal acts' or 'immoral behaviour'.

A spokesman for Miss World Limited could not respond to queries on Ris' eligibility by press time.

Out of the pot and into the fire

MISS Singapore World Ris Low Yi Min shot to online notoriety with a video footage of a RazorTV interview earlier this month.

She was slammed by netizens for pronouncing bikini as 'bigini', zebra as 'zipbra' and prints as 'preens'.

Just weeks after the furore, Ris was thrust into the limelight again over something more serious - she had been convicted of credit card fraud.

In May this year, two months before the Miss Singapore World finals, she pleaded guilty to five charges of misappropriation and cheating using illegally-obtained credit cards.

While working as a clinic assistant for a well-known medical group last year, Ris stole seven credit cards belonging to patients and chalked up nearly $8,000 in expenses.

Among her purchases were gold anklets, handphones, lingerie and expensive meals.

She was sentenced to 24 months of supervised probation.

In an interview with The Straits Times, Ris revealed that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, a condition where patients sometimes experience extreme mood swings triggered by stress.

This article was first published in The New Paper.