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12-year wait for movie debut: Former Miss World Singapore Ris Low is back for more ‘boomz’
Former Miss World Singapore Ris Low is getting ready to be back in the limelight with Justice Devil.
- Ris Low, formerly Miss World Singapore, stars in Justice Devil, a film delayed for 12 years but now winning international film festival awards.
- Low faced public scrutiny and mental health issues after her 2009 title loss but is now managing bipolar disorder with medication.
- She is now a clinic manager, taking pharmacy courses, married with a child and prepared for renewed public attention due to the film.
Sep 22, 2025
SINGAPORE – Remember the time when the nonsensical word “boomz” entered Singapore’s lexicon? Throw in “rad”, and you know we are talking about the infamous Ris Low.
Sixteen years ago, the then 19-year-old Miss World Singapore winner was heavily mocked for her poor English diction during an interview with the now-defunct online video news site The Straits Times RazorTV.
In that August 2009 clip, she mispronounced “bikini” as “bigini”, “leopard prints” as “preens” and “red” as “rad”. She also coined “boomz”, which she used to describe her fashion sense.
The video went viral, and the public attention led to the discovery that the pageant queen had been convicted of credit card fraud and sentenced to a two-year probation in May 2009, two months prior to her Miss World Singapore crowning.
In September that year, she voluntarily gave up her title.
Screenshot of a Razor TV interview of Miss Singapore World 2009, Ris Low, which was put on its website prior to her win on 31 July 2009.
PHOTO: ST RAZORTV
The 35-year-old may have fallen off the radar since then. But Low, who now goes by the name May, has found herself in the spotlight again.
She headlined the local Chinese-language indie slasher flick Justice Devil in 2013. After a 12-year delay, it finally saw the light of day, when home-grown writer-director Harva Raj submitted his passion project to various independent film circuits at the start of 2025.
It went on to win best feature film accolades at several international film festivals, including the World Film Festival in Cannes, Miami International Gold Awards and Champs-Elysees Film Awards.
Justice Devil is also nominated for best original score at the International Sound & Film Music Festival, which will take place in Croatia from Oct 3 to 6.
Low, who plays an avenging mother named Ellen whose five-year-old daughter is brutally murdered by drug kingpins, received best actress honours at the Hollywood Blood Horror Festival in Los Angeles in January and Chile’s South Film and Arts Academy Festival in February.
The acting novice tells The Straits Times that her wins were “a shock”.
“I would have given my performance an ‘F’,” Low says. She adds that she did not know what she was doing on set and relied heavily on her co-stars, local actors Ernest Seah, Michael Chua and Daniel Chen.
“I had no acting experience, didn’t take any acting classes and I found the filming process very tiring.”
Ris Low plays an avenging mother in local thriller Justice Devil.
PHOTO: CINEMASCOPE FILMS
She adds that while the recognition is rewarding, the job was a one and done.
Raj, 39, says the role was written with Low in mind, and the script was developed to parallel her life.
The daughter Ellen lost symbolises Low’s pageant crown, while the villains are a metaphor for the criticism hurled at her. In addition, Ellen’s quest for justice represents Low’s fight against public judgment and adversity.
According to the first-time director, Low brought “an emotional honesty to the character that many seasoned actors might struggle to capture”.
He adds: “Her freshness as a performer gave the role a certain unpredictability and sincerity, which I believe is why her work has resonated so strongly with audiences and earned her acting awards at international film festivals.”
Justice Devil was largely self-financed with a production cost of about $250,000, says Raj, a Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts design and media graduate specialising in video production. Financial challenges and the immense post-production workload were some reasons for the long delay.
He also served as music composer for the film – a skill he picked up on his own.
Film-maker Harva Raj (right) with his Justice Devil cast members Michael Chua (centre) and Daniel Tan.
PHOTO: CINEMASCOPE FILMS
The film had no reshoots over the years and was finally completed on Dec 31, 2024, says the Malaysia-born film-maker, who has been a Singapore permanent resident for 26 years. He is now seeking a local exhibitor to screen it.
Facing challenges head-on
Low related to the film’s themes of perseverance, resilience and grit, as they mirror her own controversial trajectory.“Honestly, I didn’t see the big deal about it then,” says Low of her past fiascos.
However, she acknowledges it was fortunate they did not receive the same level of intense online scrutiny that would be possible with today’s social media.
Miss Ris Low, the Miss Singapore World 2009 pageant winner, has been mocked mercilessly for her poor English since her video interview appeared on The Straits Times RazorTV.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
In that same year, she was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder, or manic depressive disorder.
At that time, she would feel like she was losing control, experiencing severe anger management issues, throwing things and making hurtful comments to her parents.
She says she received no support from them, as they could not understand and accept that their daughter had mental health issues.
The situation then was turbulent, and it was a difficult period for the family.
Her condition is now well managed with medication, and she sees her doctor every two months. However, being on lifetime medication means she has to cope with the side effects, including constant weight gain.
She says it is frustrating that despite watching what she eats and maintaining an active lifestyle, where she takes hour-long walks daily, she still finds it hard to shed the kilos.
She has come to terms with her heftier figure and does not care if people fat-shame her, as she is focused only on her overall well-being.
The upside of being chubby, she jokes, is that people do not recognise her in person – until her notorious moniker is mentioned.
The low periods in the aftermath of her tarnished public image included difficulties in securing work, says Low, who holds a diploma in tourism and hospitality management from the Management Development Institute of Singapore.
The stigma made it difficult for her to find stable employment and rebuild her life. And she admits to making many mistakes in her youth, as well as rash and reckless decisions.
Refusing to be defined by her past, Low, who has always had an interest in the healthcare industry, embarked on a journey of personal growth and self-improvement.
Using her SkillsFuture credits, she took up Workforce Skills Qualifications courses on psychology from The School of Positive Psychology in 2023. The same year also saw her pursuing courses on psychotherapy and counselling from the school.
Currently a clinic manager at an aesthetics clinic, she is taking a pharmacy technician course offered by the Pharmaceutical Society of Singapore.
Finding love and a new life
Ris Low has accepted her heftier figure as it is one of the side effects of the medication for her bipolar condition.
ST PHOTO: AZMI ATHNI
A key motivator in her drive for constant personal development is her desire to be a good role model to her only child. She shares a four-year-old son with her 51-year-old Singaporean husband of five years. She declines to say more about him.
Low wants the boy to view her as someone he can speak to openly. She is mindful of how she speaks around him.
While she has since traded her sexy leopard-print outfits for mum-appropriate clothes, she still uses “boomz” quite often. “My husband and I joke about it with our son, it’s like our little secret code,” says Low, laughing.
The couple met at a bar, and she was the one “who picked him up”.
“He was the shy guy drinking alone, and I was the one who asked for his number. He did not know I was ‘the’ Ris Low. When he found out about my past, he simply accepted me for who I am,” says Low, praising the love of her life as one who is extremely supportive and non-judgmental.
Ris Low in thriller Justice Devil. The locally made film was shot in 2013, but was completed only on Dec 31, 2024.
PHOTO: CINEMASCOPE FILMS
She is mentally prepared for her life to be put under a microscope again when Justice Devil eventually gets a theatrical release date in Singapore.
Meanwhile, she has learnt to laugh at herself and is wiser and stronger now. She has even proactively taken steps to inform her family, employers and colleagues that there may be renewed attention on her.
“My bosses are so supportive and encouraging. They don’t judge, and they acknowledge that people make mistakes,” says Low, adding that they allowed her to prove herself and have provided an environment where she feels accepted and valued.
When she discussed with her husband about the possibility of old news resurfacing, he responded with, “Okay, what can I do for you?”, says Low.
She adds: “With such great support, I don’t have to face anything bad alone any more.”
