The organising board of a beauty contest that took place in Hanoi recently has been fined VND50 million (USD2,380) for holding the event without a license.

The winners of the Beauty Queen Vietnam

To Van Dong, Director of the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said that the fine was issued after a department meeting on July 16, adding that this is the highest possible fine for violations in terms of culture, sports and tourism.

Beauty Queen Vietnam was a contest sponsored and hosted by B-Beauties Magazine. The contest was held between May 23 and July 13.

After the final night of the pageant, contestant Ngoc Bich, who won a title for best body, immediately threw her pageant sash into trash bin. She then uploaded the photo to Facebook, accusing the organisers of being unprofessional and selling the titles to contestants.

Her actions attracted attention and it was discovered that Beauty Queen Vietnam did not have a license. Beauty Queen Vietnam's website claims that it is "the biggest beauty pageant in Vietnam" and that it was licensed by the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hanoi.

However, the director of Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, To Van Dong, said they had never issued license for this contest.  On July 15, the Department of Performing Arts asked the Hanoi Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to investigate and strictly punish the organisers of Beauty Queen Vietnam.