SINGAPORE - She's our new Miss Universe Singapore.

And barely six days since she earned the coveted crown, Miss Lynn Tan, 24, has learnt an important lesson many past beauty queens have found out: That you are going to be scrutinised and inevitably criticised; that criticisms will never escape you, no matter how you may have transformed.

She revealed how she was chubby and looked like a boy as a child.

What one can change, though, is how one reacts towards these criticisms, however malicious and insulting they may be - by "being gracious" and addressing them.

The netizens have been working overtime. Some took pictures off her Facebook account and posted it elsewhere online.

A picture of Miss Tan in her new car - a gift from her British boyfriend - was re-posted on online forums after her win, with netizens calling her "materialistic".

On the HardwareZone forum alone, Miss Tan has also been accused of having had a "boob job", a nose job and even being a former man.

Miss Tan, 24, now an associate with accounting firm Deloitte, told The New Paper: "People who want to criticise shouldn't hide behind anonymous personas.

"I have no idea what their motivations are, but I'm guessing most of it would be done out of jealousy.

"I'm not affected by it as I'm the one who has won, not them. "Such behaviour speaks volumes about those who do the criticising."

The beauty queen counts herself lucky that she has a supportive family who cheered her on at the local finals.

Said Miss Tan: "You can't please everyone and you will always have detractors, no matter what you do in life."

"I just focus on the many who are so happy for me that I've won. Singaporeans should be more supportive of their own."

Here are some of the top barbs against the beauty queen and her answers.

On 'fake breasts': "They have always been this size (34C). I have never had any implants. If I did, they would be a lot bigger. I was lucky that I got them from my mother."

On 'fake nose': "I've never had plastic surgery. My mother has a very sharp nose and she looks Korean."

On 'looking like a transvestite': "After having read the forums, that seems to be the general criticism for anyone who doesn't have an Oriental look. "Thus, if you don't look typically Chinese (and have a mixed-blood look with strong bone structure), they'll call you a man."

On 'being materialistic' (after posting a picture of herself in her Nissan GT-R) "I was thrilled as anybody would be to be given the opportunity to drive a nice, fast car (a gift from my boyfriend)."

On 'looking like a Barbie doll': "That's actually a compliment. I was lucky, beauty is in the eye of the beholder."

On 'wearing thick make-up': "Of course I had on heavy make-up at the finals; it was stage make-up. I don't wear that on a daily basis."

On being called 'a Sarong Party Girl (SPG) for having a Caucasian boyfriend': "You can't choose who you want to fall in love with or when or how. Love just happens."

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