The Department of Performing Arts does not recognize the title of 4th Runner-up of Ngan Anh.

Despite winning the title of 4th Runner-up and the 'Most Popular Contestant' award at Miss Intercontinental 2018, Ngan Anh did not receive support from the domestic public.

After returning home yesterday (January 28), she faced an administrative penalty from the Department of Performing Arts (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) for her illegal participation in the contest. Earlier in January, the Department refused to grant her a license to participate in the international beauty pageant and announced that it would punish her according to current regulations.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Vinh, Director of the Department of Performing Arts, said that Miss Intercontinental is an international contest with the participation of many contestants from different countries, including Vietnam. The Department did not grant a license to Le Au Ngan Anh because of the violations of the organizing committee of Miss Ocean 2017. Therefore, Ngan Anh participated in this contest as an individual and did not represent Vietnam. The Department also did not recognize the title of 4th runner-up of Miss Intercontinental that Ngan Anh won.

With the act of defying the decision of the authorities, arbitrarily participating in international competitions, even challenging public opinion, the Department of Performing Arts announced that it will take action according to regulations. Currently, according to Decree 28/2017 amending and supplementing a number of articles of Decree 158/2013, cases of going abroad to participate in international beauty and model competitions without a license will be fined 15-30 million VND.

Ngan Anh herself authorized her lawyer to file a lawsuit against the Department of Performing Arts to the Hanoi People's Court on January 15. The Court has received Ngan Anh's lawsuit file for consideration and settlement. When returning home yesterday, the beauty also said that she fully authorized her personal lawyer to conduct the legal proceedings. She still maintains her stance of suing to protect her legitimate rights.

"When the Department of Performing Arts failed to cite a legal basis for its decision, it is clear that the decision to refuse to consider granting me permission to compete internationally is completely unacceptable, and has affected my legitimate rights and interests," Ngan Anh wrote in the lawsuit.

Participating in Miss Intercontinental 2018, Le Au Ngan Anh was under great pressure when she did not receive approval from the authorities. Domestic audiences heavily criticized her, even going to the contest's Fanpage to denounce her for participating illegally. During the competition, Ngan Anh's image was completely blurred when she "went empty-handed" in most of the sub-competitions. She was criticized for her weak catwalk skills, unconvincing facial expressions, and had an incident of revealing her underwear and butt on stage. Ngan Anh unexpectedly won the sub-competition prize.Most favorite candidate,The right to enter the top 6 before the final night also caused a lot of controversy.

After the final round, despite winning the title of 4th runner-up, her catwalk instructor implied that she knew the questions in advance and paid to buy the prize. Ngan Anh spoke out to deny these suspicions.