Anna Malova: Ex-Miss Russia's Case Dropped

A former Miss Russia said she has learned from her mistakes after drug and shoplifting charges against her were dropped by a New York court.

Anna Malova was accused of stealing prescription pads from doctors, and writing herself prescriptions for pain and anti-anxiety drugs 14 times.

Manhattan Criminal Court Judge Richard Weinberg dismissed the charges, plus one count of shoplifting from a clothes shop, after she completed two years in a drugs rehabilitation programme.

Prosecutors wanted her to spend another three months in treatment, but the court decided Malova, 42, had met the requirements of her rehabilitation.

"You can be very proud of yourself in getting your life back," Judge Weinberg told her.

But he warned: "If you find yourself failing, you'll be back before me."

"I've learned my lesson," Malova told reporters as she left court. "I look at the world with clear eyes."

Malova, who finished in the top 10 in the 1998 Miss Universe contest, went into inpatient drug rehabilitation in June 2011 following her arrest.

She was initially supposed to be there for a year. But she was jailed for a month in late 2011 after authorities said she caused problems at the rehab centre.

Then she got into trouble again in March 2012, when prosecutors said she had been hoarding pills while in treatment.

In arguing that she needed more time in treatment, prosecutors pointed out that she still takes an anti-anxiety drug and doesn't have a paid job, which is normally a requirement for completing a rehab programme.

Her lawyer, Robert Gottlieb, said doctors had prescribed the medication for her, and she is volunteering at a music company.

Malova said the publicity surrounding her case made it difficult for her to find paid employment.