PARTY animal, been there. Modelling, done that. Gave birth, yes. Beauty pageant winner, check.

Ms Jasmin Ong, 26, will tell you that life continues to be interesting even after you become a mother.

Yesterday, the young mum, a customer relations manager at a property firm, strutted the catwalk in Shenzhen, China, and took third place out of 10 contenders in the international My Lovely Mum beauty contest.

It is a proud achievement for Ms Ong, a pageant newbie. Earlier this month, she beat 11 mums to emerge champion and won $13,000 in prizes in the Singapore leg.

Yesterday in China, she won a trophy and 4,000 yuan ($800).

The mother-of-one represented Singapore in the international pageant organised by CapitaLand, which held similar pageants in its malls in cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Penang and Tokyo.

It was the first time Singapore was represented in the international pageant, which is into its 13th year.

In first place was Shenzhen's representative and the second-place winner was from Tokyo.

After the contest, Ms Ong said in a phone interview from Shenzhen: 'I'm very surprised because the rest of the contestants were very strong and confident. I didn't even think I would be in the top three.

'It's a dream. It's unbelievable.'

Ms Ong, with her silky tresses and winning smile, is undoubtedly a yummy mummy. She admitted that back when she was single, she was more of a party animal.

Ms Ong, who is married to Mr Andy Koh, 30, a sales executive, and has a 2-year-old daughter, Elysia, recalled: 'I used to party at least three times a week.

'I loved to sing and dance as long as there was music.'

But motherhood has turned her into a homebody, as she is now more content to stay in and play with her daughter.

She does not see it as a loss.

'Some people think that if you are a mum at such a young age, you can't enjoy life.

'But I get happiness from my daughter. Money can't buy that.

'Being a young mum ensures that there's no big age gap between me and my kids as they grow up. That way, we won't have so many misunderstandings,' she added.

Ms Ong, who has a 'young mum' herself, plans to give her trophy from the Singapore pageant to her own 53-year-old mother.

The international trophy is for Elysia, she said.

While Ms Ong said that she was nervous about her first pageant in Singapore, she has never been the shy, wallflower type.

She told The New Paper on Sunday that she has always enjoyed taking centrestage, be it performing with classmates in her school days or modelling part-time in her early 20s.

Recently, she appeared in a Pizza Hut print advertisement with her husband.

But while Ms Ong projected a casual confidence, she said she did her fair share of preparation.

In the lead-up to the finals in China, she rehearsed her catwalk strut in her HDB maisonette home in Pasir Ris.

DADDY AND DAUGHTER HELP

Little Elysia sometimes got in on the act by trying to imitate her mother's walk - right down to placing her hand on her hip.

Her husband, whom she married in 2005, would record her doing her walk, so she could watch and review it for improvements.

He was also her 'audience' whenever she needed to practise her answers to potential questions.

A beaming Mr Koh said: 'I'm happy for her and I encourage her because it's what she likes to do.'

He and Elysia had to cheer for MsOng from a distance yesterday, as he has reservist training for two weeks.

Ms Ong's 21-year-old brother, who is about to enter national service, was with her in China.

The trip for two, worth close to $2,500, inclusive of airfare, meals, hotels and allowances, was fully paid by CapitaLand.

While Ms Ong will not be around for Mother's Day today, her husband and daughter will celebrate the occasion with a meal when she returns to Singapore tomorrow.

This article was first published in The New Paper on May 11, 2008.