Surgically-altered finalist claims 50,000 yuan for distress A woman who was kicked out of a beauty pageant for undergoing cosmetic surgery took the event's organisers to court yesterday seeking 50,000 yuan in compensation. Yang Yuan, 20, one of the 30 finalists in the Miss Intercontinental beauty pageant, lost her spot when it was discovered that she had been surgically enhanced. Media pressure forced organisers of the pageant, the Beijing Jiu Tian Wei Ye Culture Company, to reverse its decision five days later, but Ms Yang angrily rejected the offer in front of television cameras and announced she would sue. Accompanied by her lawyer, Chen Huagang, and her plastic surgeon, Shi Sanba, Ms Yang asked Dongcheng District People's Court in Beijing to order the company to apologise and award her 50,000 yuan for psychological distress. In papers submitted to the court, Ms Yang said she spent 110,000 yuan on the surgery so she could improve her appearance and enter the contest. The cosmetic changes included a facelift and work on her nose, lips and teeth. She said her elimination amounted to discrimination, and damaged her reputation. Company lawyer Zhang Lei said the decision to drop Ms Yang from the contest was made to ensure the objectivity and fairness of the event. Mr Zhang said that if Ms Yang had not been banned, the situation would have been an injustice to the other contestants. He also denied the company defamed Ms Yang, saying the rejection letter was given only to the plaintiff and that she had publicised the rejection herself. Plastic surgeon Ms Shi said Ms Yang was attempting to improve herself through the operations and trying to achieve her ambition of being glamorous. Mr Zhang rejected this and said she had undergone surgery solely for the pageant. 'We don't want to mislead other girls who want to enter the contest,' he said. Mr Zhang said Ms Yang would not have been allowed to take part if she had told organisers about her operations. The court has yet to fix a date for announcing its verdict.
