Miss Globe New Zealand beauty pageant organisers told winner Synthia Nath that the crown was meant for “another Indian girl.” Nath wants apology and compensation from the organisers after they confused her with Loriza Latif, another Indian contestant, because they “look alike.”

Nath, 19, had to pay $500 to enter the competition, in which she was announced as Miss Globe New Zealand 2014 on May 10 at the event in Papakura.

Lydia Smit of Morrinsville was crowned the overall winner.

However, when she called one of the organisers to ask what her prize was, she was instead asked if she had $3000 to cover her expenses for her trip to Turkey, where the Miss Globe International pageant will be held in June.

“I was shocked, I was like, ‘Aren’t you supposed to give me the money?’ They were like, ‘No,’ and asked if I had the three grand or not,” Nath told the New Zealand Herald.

She then called the chief executive of Face of Beauty International Ltd, Milagros Manuel, telling her that she could not come up with the money in such a short time. The pageant has already cost her over $1000 for her entry fee and her dress.

“She said, ‘Good, you don’t have the money. Give the crown and sash back, I have other girls lined up,’” Nath recounted.

When Nath went back to the organiser the following day, she was told that she wasn’t the real winner.

“She said, ‘I mixed up the name somehow and it was another Indian girl that should have won.’”

She was told to give the crown and sash back to the winner, which she did. And in what seems to be another insult, the organiser offered to give them back to her, saying in an email, “You can keep it and pretend that you still are Miss Globe.”

Nath is now seeking compensation for the entry fee she shelled out, including $420 for the 10 tickets that she sold, which is another condition of entry. She also wants apology from the organisers, saying she felt her reputation had been tarnished by the experienced.

Manuel, meanwhile, told the Herald that it was an “honest mistake” when they called Nath’s name instead of Latif during the winner announcement. She reasoned out that Nath and Latif “look alike.”

As for the $3000 that the winner was asked to shoulder so they could compete overseas, Manuel claimed that contestants were told of the costs before they were crowned.