Acquitted of rape on appeal, ex-Wah!Banana actor reflects on the 3 years lost behind bars

When he first heard about the rape investigation, Mr Lev Panfilov thought it would quickly blow over. Instead, he would take five years to prove his innocence, during which he spent a "dark" time in jail.

Russian actor and scriptwriter Lev Panfilov speaks to CNA about his ordeal after being accused of rape and how the entire process has changed him. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)

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SINGAPORE: Waiting in the dock to hear if he would spend more than a decade in prison for rape , former Wah!Banana actor Lev Panfilov’s heart was racing.

Then came the words that signalled the end of his five-year nightmare : not enough evidence.

"I wasn't, to be honest, even listening to (the appeal judge). I was already in this mode of - oh, thank God! Thank God it's all over," the 30-year-old Russian national told CNA in an interview at his lawyers' office.

The acquittal spared the Singapore permanent resident an 11-and-a-half year prison term and 24 strokes of the cane, which had been meted out after he was initially convicted of four charges of rape, sexual assault and molestation.

The Court of Appeal overturned the convictions after it found reasonable doubt in the prosecution's case due to material inconsistencies in the woman's testimony.

By the time he walked free on Sep 2, Mr Panfilov had already spent almost three years in jail.

He was remanded for trying to leave Singapore during the trial - which Mr Panfilov said came after his father's death and his grandfather's illness - followed by a brief period serving his sentence.

Speaking to CNA about the emotional toll of the case, Mr Panfilov said he and his family have spent around half a million dollars on the legal battle to overturn the earlier ruling, in what he described as a "traumatic" ordeal.

FROM TINDER TO TRIAL

The case involves a 30-year-old woman, whom Mr Panfilov had matched with on dating application Tinder and subsequently met for a meal in January 2021. They had consensual sex according to him, but the woman later lodged a police report alleging violent sexual assault.

The gag order on her identity remains in force for reasons which include not deterring rape victims from coming forward.

Mr Panfilov said he was going about his day when he received a call about the investigation and was detained and questioned by the police in 2021.

"I had no idea what they were talking about at that point in time, and so it took me some time to kind of realise what is even happening," he said.

"Confronted with something like that, I felt like a child who's being reprimanded for something (I) did not do."

Investigations continued for about a year, during which Mr Panfilov hoped the matter would quickly blow over. Instead, the probe and subsequent court case took five years.

The former scriptwriter and actor at comedy channel Wah!Banana said he had plans to move overseas to New York to study acting, as he had a scholarship at a university there.

When he was charged in December 2021, those plans vanished.

"I felt like I was living in this mystical world where things were happening, and I didn't, I couldn't understand why they were happening to me," he said.

His trial opened in May 2023. With each new development at court, the amount of stress he felt skyrocketed, said Mr Panfilov.

"I went into court, and they read out these charges, and there are people I've never met before in the gallery, and I'm sat in the dock for the first time in my life, and, oh, it's just really stressful.

"And people, you know, everyone is just looking at you and ... you're being accused of such a hideous crime."

Mr Panfilov said he could only listen to the accusations levelled against him, but could not speak out as his lawyers advised against it. At the time, several clients of the recruiting firm where he worked also decided to pull out.

"I was basically treated as if I was guilty before ... any kind of conclusion had been made," said Mr Panfilov.

DECIDED TO LEAVE COUNTRY

Amid the ongoing trial, he said he applied twice to leave the country because his father had aggressive brain cancer, which the court rejected.

It was only after his father died in Russia that he was allowed to leave Singapore to attend the funeral. As a result, his bail amount was raised from S$80,000 to S$120,000.

"I stayed there for about a month, and then I came back to Singapore to fight the trial because I believed I was innocent," said Mr Panfilov.

Later in 2023, his 91-year-old grandfather also had health concerns and had asked Mr Panfilov to see him in Russia.

When the court rejected his application to visit his grandfather, he made what he now calls a "foolish decision" to slip out of the country using an undeclared second passport.

After the authorities stopped him at the airport, Mr Panfilov was remanded in jail, where he remained as the trial went on.

Being jailed was another low point, Mr Panfilov said.

"It was an experience, I'll put it at that. It's a very dark place, but if you've got light within you, you can survive and even grow stronger," he said.

Mr Lev Panfilov gestures as he shares his experience in jail. (Photo: CNA/Syamil Sapari)

He told CNA how he stayed in three different kinds of cells - first, a four-man cell while on remand, then a single-man cell after he was sentenced, and an eight-man cell while he was in prison school.

Mr Panfilov described his experience of being convicted of rape in May 2025 as a "really, really scary rollercoaster".

He believed that he had enough facts to prove his innocence, but there were legal details that Mr Panfilov said mattered more than he thought they would.

While he lodged an appeal, the conviction itself was a huge shock and he had to begin to "live with the idea" that he may be in prison for a long time.

Mr Panfilov was housed in Changi Prison's A1 cluster, a maximum-security prison for offenders who have been given lengthy sentences. There, he met others who were serving longer sentences than him.

"So the moment I got there with my 11-and-a-half years, everyone was kind of like, 'ah bro, nothing lah'."

Even as he gradually came to adapt to his new environment by making friends with other inmates, Mr Panfilov continued to hope that he would win his appeal.

This was despite "everyone" around him telling him that his chances were slim.

"But I knew, at the back of my head that I'm innocent, that we will do everything we need to do, and I had trust in the judicial system, and in the end it proved to have corrected the mistakes that were made earlier, and I'm grateful for that," said Mr Panfilov.

Determined to make the most of his time, he enrolled in prison school to prepare for his GCE A-Levels, which he is still slated to sit this November.

Mr Panfilov recalled reading "voraciously", estimating that he finished over 100 books in his time in jail, spanning fiction and non-fiction including Russian authors and local memoirs by people like Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong.

He also joined religious counselling sessions, "found God" while in prison and became a Christian.

"You just pretend that you've got this magnifying glass and you maximise the little benefits and the positives that you have in life, and you diminish all the other negatives around you," he said.

His present girlfriend, whom he had known for a long time and started dating in 2021, also visited him in prison weekly or monthly, depending on the availability of visits.

APPEAL AND ACQUITTAL

Following his conviction in May 2025, Mr Panfilov's appeal was handled by Mr Johannes Hadi, Mr Eugene Thuraisingam and Ms Seraphine Loh.

They were his third set of lawyers - the first being Mr Ashwin Ganapathy and Mr Anil Balchandani. The latter is known for representing Ms Parti Liyani, a former maid who was acquitted of stealing from the family of ex-Changi Airport Group chairman Liew Mun Leong.

Mr Manoj Nandwani and Mr Sameer Melber from Gabriel Law took over the case after the first set of lawyers finished cross-examining the woman for 13 days.

While attending the appeal hearing was a "nerve-racking" moment for him, Mr Panfilov sensed a faint glimmer of hope because of how the judges were asking questions about the case.

He was only notified in his cell the day before his next hearing that the verdict would be delivered. When the judges acquitted him of all charges, Mr Panfilov recalled wondering what to do next.

He was released that same evening after being acquitted, but he did not know where his mother's new home was in Singapore.

"The only person whom I had in Singapore whom I was close to was my girlfriend, and luckily I still remembered her address," said Mr Panfilov.

With only the S$50 returned to him from his personal property upon discharge, no phone, and two bags of books, he could not hail a ride until a security guard helped him book a Grab.

Mr Panfilov went straight to his girlfriend's home, but no one was in except for his dog. His girlfriend, who is in her 30s and works in the business aviation sector, had been waiting for him in the wrong place as she thought he would be released from court.

"So no one even met me," said Mr Panfilov. "It's just me walking out, you know, not knowing what's happening like John Travolta (from the Pulp Fiction meme)."

Even though he was in jail for only about three years, he felt out of place re-entering society.

"I was like struggling to cross the road in the beginning ... you know, things moved so fast. I had not seen cars moving, didn't have to cross the street for a long time," he said.

In jail, he did not have to use his phone or send emails, so every single message he received in there was "an event".

"Every single letter that you get is like, wow, because there are all these pent up emotions, so you feel that any sign of care or concern by other people outside of prison is important to you," he said.

"Now ... I get messaged frequently as everyone else does, and it's a non-stop flow of messages, and that was something that I was finding hard to adjust to."

With the five years of police investigations, court appearances and jail time now behind him, Mr Panfilov said he is extremely relieved that justice has prevailed.

"My faith in the Singapore judicial system has been restored," he said. "But it's a type of relief that is mixed with a lot of grief ... and a type of darkness."

The grief, he said, came from the time he lost and the process of re-adjusting back to his regular life.

His first goal is to recoup the monetary losses from the case.

To do so, he has set up a recruitment firm called Found Partners. Mr Panfilov retained his Singapore permanent resident status since he was acquitted.

"Because I've lived here half my life, Singapore's become an intrinsic part of me, and I do consider myself a Singaporean to a certain extent. At least, I did some National Service, and I did go to secondary school," he said.

"And now I've been to prison, so I know ... all the aspects of Singapore," he said with a smile.

Now, he wishes to expand his horizons, explore living elsewhere, and eventually pivot to the creative industry. He also intends to marry his girlfriend.

Asked if he had any comment on the woman who accused him, Mr Panfilov paused as he thought about what to say.

"I don't really occupy myself with thoughts about her too much, because I've got my own life to focus on," he said. "You know, people make mistakes."

While he insists the incarceration was not an "educational experience" but punishment for a crime he did not commit, he said the ordeal impressed upon him the vital importance of having competent legal counsel, noting that those with fewer resources might not be able to protect themselves adequately.

He added that the experience has made him a more patient person, since such situations may take a long time to sort out.

"One thing I noticed is I don't really laugh at things as much as I used to," he said, describing how he watched some of his favourite comedians on release from jail and found that it was no longer funny.

"I think I've become more compassionate as well, and less judgmental," said Mr Panfilov.

"Before going to prison, I used to think that everyone in prison is - don't deal with him, you know, don't talk to that person basically.

"But now I understand that a lot of people, they just make mistakes, and well, they're out there to correct themselves, and everyone deserves a second chance, or a third chance, or a fourth chance, as many chances as they need, within the parameters of the law."

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列夫·潘菲洛夫先生最初听到强奸案调查的消息时，以为事情很快就会过去。然而，他却花了五年时间证明自己的清白，期间还在监狱里度过了一段“黑暗”的时光。

俄罗斯演员兼编剧列夫·潘菲洛夫接受CNA采访，讲述了他被指控强奸后的遭遇以及整个过程如何改变了他。（图片：CNA/Syamil Sapari）

这段音频是由人工智能工具生成的。

新加坡：前 Wah!Banana 乐队成员列夫·潘菲洛夫在被告席上等待着是否会因强奸罪被判处十多年监禁的消息，他的心跳得很快。

然后，宣告他五年噩梦结束的那句话出现了：证据不足。

“说实话，我根本没在听（上诉法官）说话。我当时的想法是——哦，谢天谢地！谢天谢地一切都结束了，”这位30岁的俄罗斯公民在律师事务所接受CNA采访时说道。

此次无罪释放使这位新加坡永久居民免于 11 年半的监禁和 24 下鞭刑，此前他因四项强奸、性侵犯和猥亵罪名被定罪。

上诉法院推翻了原判，理由是该女子的证词存在实质性矛盾，导致检方的案件存在合理怀疑。

潘菲洛夫先生于 9 月 2 日获释时，他已经在监狱里待了将近三年。

潘菲洛夫先生说，审判期间他试图离开新加坡，因此被还押候审——审判是在他父亲去世和祖父生病之后进行的——随后他短暂服刑。

潘菲洛夫先生在接受亚洲新闻台采访时谈到此案带来的情感创伤，他说他和他的家人为了推翻之前的裁决，在这场法律斗争中花费了大约 50 万美元，他称之为“痛苦的”磨难。

从 Tinder 到审判

这起案件涉及一名 30 岁的女子，潘菲洛夫先生通过约会软件 Tinder 与她配对成功，随后于 2021 年 1 月见面用餐。据他称，他们发生了自愿性行为，但该女子后来向警方报案，指控他实施了暴力性侵犯。

出于不阻止强奸受害者挺身而出等原因，对她的身份仍然下达了封口令。

潘菲洛夫先生说，2021 年，他像往常一样生活，突然接到一个关于调查的电话，随后被警方拘留和讯问。

“当时我完全不知道他们在说什么，所以过了一段时间我才明白到底发生了什么，”他说。

“面对这样的事情，我感觉自己像个孩子，因为没做过的事情而受到责备。”

调查持续了大约一年，期间潘菲洛夫先生希望此事能尽快平息。然而，调查和随后的庭审却耗时五年。

这位曾在喜剧频道 Wah!Banana 担任编剧和演员的前编剧表示，他计划移居纽约学习表演，因为他获得了那里一所大学的奖学金。

2021年12月他被起诉后，这些计划就消失了。

“我感觉自己生活在一个神秘的世界里，那里发生了很多事情，但我却不明白，我无法理解为什么这些事情会发生在我身上，”他说。

他的审判于 2023 年 5 月开始。潘菲洛夫先生说，随着法庭上每一个新的进展，他感受到的压力都急剧上升。

“我走进法庭，他们宣读了这些指控，旁听席上有一些我以前从未见过的人，而我生平第一次坐在被告席上，哦，这真的太让人紧张了。”

“你知道，大家都在看着你，你被指控犯下了如此骇人听闻的罪行。”

潘菲洛夫先生表示，他只能听取对他的指控，但律师建议他不要发声，因此他无法公开回应。当时，他所在招聘公司的几位客户也决定终止合作。

潘菲洛夫先生说：“基本上，在得出任何结论之前，我就被当作有罪的人对待了。”

决定离开这个国家

在审判进行期间，他说他曾两次申请离开该国，因为他的父亲患有侵袭性脑癌，但都被法院驳回了。

直到他父亲在俄罗斯去世后，他才被允许离开新加坡去参加葬礼。因此，他的保释金从8万新元提高到了12万新元。

潘菲洛夫先生说：“我在那里待了一个月左右，然后回到新加坡打官司，因为我相信我是无辜的。”

2023 年晚些时候，他 91 岁的祖父也出现了健康问题，并请潘菲洛夫先生到俄罗斯为他看望。

当法院驳回他探望祖父的申请后，他做出了一个他现在称之为“愚蠢的决定”，即使用未申报的第二本护照溜出该国。

潘菲洛夫先生在机场被当局拦下后，被还押到监狱，并在审判期间一直被关押在那里。

潘菲洛夫先生说，入狱是他人生中的又一个低谷。

“那是一次难忘的经历，仅此而已。那是一个非常黑暗的地方，但如果你内心有光明，你就能生存下来，甚至变得更加强大，”他说。

列夫·潘菲洛夫先生一边做着手势，一边分享他的狱中经历。（图片：CNA/Syamil Sapari）

他告诉CNA，他曾住过三种不同的牢房——首先是还押候审期间的四人牢房，然后是判刑后的单人牢房，最后是监狱学校期间的八人牢房。

潘菲洛夫先生将他于 2025 年 5 月被判强奸罪的经历描述为“一段非常非常可怕的过山车之旅”。

他认为自己掌握了足够的事实来证明自己的清白，但潘菲洛夫先生说，有些法律细节比他想象的更重要。

虽然他提出了上诉，但定罪本身对他来说是一个巨大的打击，他不得不开始“接受”自己可能要在监狱里待很长时间的事实。

潘菲洛夫先生被关押在樟宜监狱A1监区，这是一所关押长期服刑犯的最高安全级别监狱。在那里，他遇到了其他刑期比他更长的囚犯。

“所以当我带着我11岁半的年纪到达那里时，每个人都好像在说，‘啊兄弟，没什么啦’。”

即使潘菲洛夫先生逐渐适应了新的环境，并与其他狱友交朋友，他仍然希望自己能够赢得上诉。

尽管他周围的“所有人”都告诉他，他的机会渺茫，但他仍然坚持了自己的想法。

潘菲洛夫先生说：“但我内心深处知道我是无辜的，我们会尽一切努力，我对司法系统抱有信心，最终司法系统也纠正了之前犯下的错误，对此我表示感激。”

为了充分利用时间，他报名参加了监狱学校，为他的 GCE A-Level 考试做准备，他仍然计划在今年 11 月参加考试。

潘菲洛夫先生回忆说，他“如饥似渴”地阅读，估计在狱中读完了 100 多本书，涵盖小说和非小说类作品，包括俄罗斯作家的作品以及李光耀和吴作栋等本地人的回忆录。

他还参加了宗教辅导课程，在狱中“找到了上帝”，成为了一名基督徒。

他说：“你只需假装自己有一面放大镜，把生活中那些微小的好处和积极因素放大，同时忽略周围所有其他的消极因素。”

他现在的女友，他和她相识已久，于 2021 年开始交往，她也会每周或每月去监狱探望他，具体取决于探视安排。

上诉与无罪释放

潘菲洛夫先生于 2025 年 5 月被定罪后，他的上诉由约翰内斯·哈迪先生、尤金·图莱辛加姆先生和塞拉芬·洛女士处理。

这是他的第三组律师——第一组是阿什温·加纳帕蒂先生和阿尼尔·巴尔昌达尼先生。后者曾代理过帕蒂·利亚尼女士的案件，利亚尼女士曾是樟宜机场集团前主席刘文龙的佣人，最终被判无罪。

在第一组律师对该女子进行了 13 天的交叉询问后，来自 Gabriel Law 的 Manoj Nandwani 先生和 Sameer Melber 先生接手了此案。

潘菲洛夫先生虽然觉得参加上诉听证会“令人紧张”，但由于法官们就案件提出的问题，他还是感觉到了一丝希望。

直到下次开庭前一天，他才在牢房里被告知即将宣判。当法官宣判他所有罪名不成立时，潘菲洛夫先生回忆说，他当时不知道接下来该怎么办。

当晚他就被无罪释放，但他并不知道母亲在新加坡的新家在哪里。

潘菲洛夫先生说：“我在新加坡唯一亲近的人就是我的女朋友，幸运的是，我还记得她的地址。”

出院时，他只拿回了个人物品中的 50 新元，没有手机，只有两袋书，他甚至都打不到车，直到一名保安帮他叫了一辆 Grab 出租车。

潘菲洛夫先生径直去了他女友家，但家里除了他的狗以外空无一人。他的女友三十多岁，在公务航空领域工作，她以为他会从法庭获释，所以才在错误的地方等他。

“所以根本没人注意到我，”潘菲洛夫先生说。“我就这么走了出去，你知道，就像约翰·特拉沃尔塔（电影《低俗小说》里的梗图）一样，对即将发生的事情一无所知。”

尽管他只在监狱里待了大约三年，但他重返社会后仍然感到格格不入。

“一开始我过马路都费劲……你知道，一切都发生得太快了。我很久都没看到车开动，也没怎么过马路，”他说。

在监狱里，他不必使用手机或发送电子邮件，所以他在监狱里收到的每一条信息都是“一件大事”。

他说：“收到的每一封信都让人感到惊喜，因为信中充满了各种压抑的情绪，所以你会觉得监狱外其他人的任何关心或关注对你来说都很重要。”

“现在……我和其他人一样经常收到消息，消息源源不断地涌来，这让我很难适应。”

经历了五年的警方调查、出庭和牢狱之灾后，潘菲洛夫先生表示，他感到无比欣慰，正义终于得到了伸张。

“我对新加坡司法系统的信心已经恢复，”他说。“但这是一种解脱，其中夹杂着许多悲伤……以及某种黑暗。”

他说，悲伤来自于失去的时间以及重新适应正常生活的过程。

他的首要目标是挽回此案造成的经济损失。

为此，他成立了一家名为Found Partners的招聘公司。潘菲洛夫先生自被判无罪以来，一直保留着新加坡永久居民身份。

“因为我在这里生活了半辈子，新加坡已经成为我生命中不可分割的一部分，在某种程度上，我确实认为自己是新加坡人。至少，我服过兵役，也上过中学，”他说。

“现在我坐过牢了，所以我了解……新加坡的方方面面，”他笑着说。

现在，他希望开阔眼界，尝试在其他地方生活，最终转型进入创意产业。他还打算和女友结婚。

当被问及对指控他的女子有何评论时，潘菲洛夫先生停顿了一下，思考着该说什么。

“我不太会过多地去想她，因为我有自己的生活要忙，”他说。“你知道，人都会犯错。”

他坚称监禁不是一次“教育经历”，而是对他未犯之罪的惩罚。但他表示，这段磨难让他深刻体会到拥有称职的法律顾问的重要性，并指出资源较少的人可能无法充分保护自己。

他还补充说，这段经历让他变得更有耐心，因为这种情况可能需要很长时间才能解决。

“我注意到的一件事是，我不再像以前那样经常发笑了，”他说道，并描述了他出狱后观看一些他最喜欢的喜剧演员的表演，发现这些表演不再好笑了。

潘菲洛夫先生说：“我觉得自己也变得更有同情心了，也更少评判别人了。”

“在入狱之前，我总觉得监狱里的每个人都是——别跟他来往，你知道，基本上就是别跟那个人说话。”

“但我现在明白，很多人犯了错，他们会努力改正，每个人都应该有第二次机会、第三次机会、第四次机会，在法律允许的范围内，应该有他们需要的次数。”

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