A British beauty queen told this week how she fled an international pageant after being groped by officials and offered votes in exchange for sex.
Amy Willerton, 19, quit the Miss Asia Pacific World contest in South Korea after three 'shambolic' day, claiming that she was sexually assaulted by organisers and sponsors, invited to give sexual favours to secure votes and fed just one meal per day.
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| British beauty queen Amy Willerton, 19, alleges she was groped and offered votes in exchange for sex over three 'shambolic' days at the Miss Asia Pacific beauty pageant |
When she reported the corruption to police she was stunned to see officials openly bribing local officers with cash.
After arriving home Amy was disgusted to learn that the eventual winner of the £12,700 first prize was none other than the local entrant, Miss South Korea.
She said on Thursday: 'It was absolutely horrendous. 'I had two of the organisers sexually assault me - one tried to pull my top down. When we posed with sponsors they also tried to stick a hand somewhere inappropriate.
'Girls were pulled aside and told they knew what they had to do if they wanted to win - we all knew they meant sex.
'When we complained we were told that we would have no chance of winning if we carried on.
'We called the police but I then saw one of the competition chairmen pull out his wallet straight away when they arrived.'I was petrified but more than anything I thought I had to get control of the situation just and get out of there.'
Amy appears in the Sky Living show 'Signed By Katie Price' in which the glamour model searches for new talent.
She was contacted by the organisers of Miss Asia Pacific World online and signed a contract assuring her that all expenses would be paid.
But things went wrong from the moment she stepped off the plane in Seoul on October 3 when organisers refused to pay for her £600 flight as promised.
She was then horrified to discover her hotel room did not even have a bed.
Amy, who is single, said: 'There was just a blanket on the floor. I put up with it for two nights but then complained and they moved me to another hotel.
'The next thing I knew we weren't being fed - they only gave us one meal per day. They would say things like 'we cannot give you lunch because we haven't been paid for it'.'
After three days in Seoul, the group of 50 beauties were taken to the city of Daegu for the next stage of the competition.
By this time allegations of corruption and bribery were sweeping around the models and several had complained of being sexually assaulted and harassed.
The final straw came when an optional 'talent' round was won by Miss Venezuela -- who had not even entered that section of the competition.
She said: 'We were putting up with so much and realised there was no way we were going to win anyway.
'A lot of the girls wanted to win the £12,700 prize money, but were told they could only do it if they did favours.
'They basically relaid to me that 'I know what I can do for you - what can you do for me?'
'I decided to leave. I ordered a tracking service from the UK to make sure I got back okay.
'The organisers said to me they would take my luggage in a different car - but I refused because I didn't trust them.
'I made it back alright, but two of the other girls who wanted to leave had their bags confiscated. I was so relieved to get home.'
She arrived home to Horfield, Bristol, on October 14 and says she is £1,000 out of pocket after having to book a new flight home.
Amy claims that two other girls who also fled, Miss Guyana and Miss Costa Rica, had their bags confiscated in an attempt to prevent their escape.
She has since heard of other contestants being locked into their hotel after refusing to pay bills for their accommodation.
Most of the girls have now returned from the competition - won eventually by South Korean contestant Park Sae Byul.
Amy is now looking to launch legal action against the competition organisers.
In emails to her one of them admitted the competition had been a 'shambles'. © Daily Mail, London |
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