Thai beauty queen is a man

Thailand's transvestites have their own beauty contest

By Gina Wilkinson in Bangkok

A beauty queen in Thailand has handed back her crown after organisers discovered she was a he.

It was Kesaraporn Duangsawan's good looks which won over the hearts of the judges at an annual beauty contest in the central Thai province of Ratchaburi this month.

Thailand even has a jumbo beauty contest

But the 22-year-old beauty queen has been forced to abdicate after admitting she's actually a man.

A police officer says the truth came to light after fellow contestants complained that Kesaraporn was more than she appeared.

Now the disgraced beauty queen has handed back her $140 prize in the competition to the contest organisers.

Jumbo

Beauty pageants are extremely popular in Thailand, which also hosts an annual Jumbo Queen contest for larger-sized ladies.

And while this is the first known case of a Thai man winning a female beauty contest, there are other options for good-looking transvestites and transsexuals.

Each year hundreds of hopefuls flock to the popular Thai tourist destination of Pattaya to compete in the Miss Tiffany's Universe contest.

Last year's winner went on to take home the world title.