Beauty queen apologises for bullying schoolmates

Compiled by C. ARUNO, MAHADHIR MONIHULDIN AND R. ARAVINTHAN

THE winner of the recent Miss Asia Pageant Malaysia 2023 has apologised for bullying some of her schoolmates in secondary school, reported China Press.

Luwe Xin Hui, 23, uploaded a video saying sorry to several of her victims on Thursday, four days after allegations of her bullying inundated the Instagram account belonging to Asia TV (ATV), the pageant’s organiser.

“To Kang Jia, I must first apologise to you.

“I have once called you an ‘Egyptian Pharaoh’, but this was not a nickname I came up with.

“I understand that my apology will not change the harm I have done in the past, but I will carry the guilt with me in my heart and do better in the future,” she said.

However, she denied allegations that she had beaten up other students, splashed them with water, or thrown their bottles into rubbish bins.

“I am saddened at these baseless allegations,” she said.

Luwe also admitted that she was expelled from secondary school.

Pageant organiser ATV had earlier issued a statement that it rejects any form of bullying and discrimination.

“We will take the allegations seriously and will ensure that the investigation will leave no stone unturned.

“We will take into account the voices of the various parties and ensure that justice will prevail,” ATV said.

Right after Luwe was announced the winner on Sept 24, ATV’s Instagram was flooded with comments from netizens claiming to be Luwe’s victims.

They alleged that during secondary school, Luwe and her friends would slap them, lock them in the school toilets, and even pour water into their school bags.

Some of them claimed to have suffered from depression from Luwe’s abuse.

It was reported that Luwe had beaten 14 other contestants to win the crown on Monday.

She will represent Malaysia in the finals in Shanghai, China, at the end of this year.

The above articles are compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a >, it denotes a separate news item.