Singapore-based TikToker Lev Panfilov reflects on his 3 years in jail and being acquitted of rape charges

Former Wah!Banana scriptwriter-actor and TikToker Lev Panfilov reflected on his three years in Changi Prison accused of rape and being acquitted of the charges in an Instagram post on Friday (Oct 2).

The 30-year-old Singapore permanent resident wrote: "I've always loved movies. I just didn't think I would spend five-and-a-half years guessing what genre mine had become."

Lev said that at 24, he was acting, fencing, making comedy videos and preparing to move to New York to study acting on scholarship.

He recounted: "In the blink of an eye, it became a thriller. I went on a date and was accused of something I did not do.

"An investigation began. Suddenly, the future I'd been planning was put on hold."

Lev was accused of raping a 30-year-old woman he had matched on Tinder in 2021, after they met up to work on a script.

He was found guilty of two counts of rape, one count of sexual assault by penetration and one count of outrage of modesty in 2025 and sentenced to 11½ years' jail and 12 strokes of the cane.

In September, the Court of Appeal acquitted him of all four charges after finding inconsistencies in the woman's evidence. The court also found that her evidence fell short of the "unusually convincing" standard required to overcome the lack of corroborative evidence.

Lev, who is from Russia, shared in his post that when he was under investigation in 2023, his father was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour. He had tried to get permission twice to travel to Russia to see him but was denied.

"I was only allowed to go after he had passed, to pay my respects," he wrote.

He told CNA in a report published on Oct 2 that he was in Russia for a month before returning to Singapore for the trial because he believed he is innocent.

Later in 2023, the court rejected him again when he appealed to go to Russia to see his 91-year-old grandfather, who also had a health condition and wanted to meet him.

Lev said he attempted to slip out of Singapore using an undeclared second passport but was stopped at the airport and remanded in jail as his trial continued.

Life became "grim" for him.

He recalled spending 23 hours a day in a 7sqm cell with one hour in the yard. He had no bed and slept on a straw mat on the floor.

"I lived alongside people serving a few years, 20 years, even life. A few floors below were people awaiting the death penalty. For a long time, this became my world," Lev wrote.

He told CNA that he spends his time reading, finishing over 100 books during his time in jail. He also joined religious counselling sessions and became a Christian.

In addition, he also enrolled in prison school to prepare for his GCE A-Levels, which he would still be sitting for in November.

"I found my 'why' in books and faith, in friends and family, in a cappella songs in my cell and reciting comedy. And in my mother," he wrote in this post.

"While I fought from the inside, she fought for me outside. I didn't just learn how to survive. I learnt how to live."

Lev also mentioned his present girlfriend, whom he started dating in 2021, for standing by him and visited him frequently during his imprisonment.

He ended his post with: "Perhaps it is a feel-good movie after all. As for what genre comes next? I don't know. But for the first time in a long time, I got to choose."

He told CNA that when he was released that same evening after being acquitted, he didn't know where his mother was staying in Singapore and could only remember his girlfriend's address, which he went to after a security guard booked a ride for him.

Lev felt out of place while re-entering society, adding he struggled to cross the road in the beginning because everything was moving too fast.

Writing his faith in the Singapore judicial system has been restored, he added: "It's a type of relief that is mixed with a lot of grief... and a type of darkness."

His goal now is to recover his financial losses from the court case, which amounted to almost half a million dollars in legal fees, and set up recruitment firm Found Partners.

He also hoped to explore living elsewhere and eventually return to the creative industry, as well as marry his girlfriend.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lev Panfilov (@levpanf)

A post shared by Lev Panfilov (@levpanf)

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前 Wah!Banana 编剧兼演员、TikTok 用户 Lev Panfilov 于周五（10 月 2 日）在 Instagram 上发帖，回顾了他在樟宜监狱被指控强奸并最终被判无罪的三年经历。

这位30岁的新加坡永久居民写道：“我一直都很喜欢电影。我只是没想到我会花五年半的时间来猜测我的作品最终会属于哪种类型。”

列夫说，24岁时，他一边演戏、击剑、制作喜剧视频，一边准备搬到纽约，凭借奖学金学习表演。

他回忆道：“转眼间，事情就变成了一场惊悚片。我去约会，却被指控做了我根本没做过的事。”

“调查开始了。突然间，我原本规划的未来被搁置了。”

列夫被指控在 2021 年强奸了一名 30 岁的女子，两人在 Tinder 上相识，并见面一起创作剧本。

2025 年，他被判犯有两项强奸罪、一项性侵犯罪（插入式）和一项猥亵罪，并被判处 11 年半监禁和 12 下鞭刑。

9月，上诉法院以该女子证词前后矛盾为由，驳回了对他的所有四项指控。法院还认为，该女子的证词未能达到“异常令人信服”的标准，不足以弥补缺乏佐证的情况。

来自俄罗斯的列夫在帖子中分享说，2023年他接受调查期间，他的父亲被诊断出患有恶性脑瘤。他曾两次申请前往俄罗斯探望父亲，但都被拒绝了。

“我只有在他去世后才被允许去向他致敬，”他写道。

他在 10 月 2 日发表的一篇报道中告诉 CNA，他之所以在俄罗斯待了一个月，然后才返回新加坡参加审判，因为他相信自己是无辜的。

2023 年晚些时候，他再次上诉前往俄罗斯探望他 91 岁的祖父，祖父也患有疾病，想见见他，但法院再次驳回了他的请求。

列夫表示，他试图使用未申报的第二本护照逃离新加坡，但在机场被拦下，并在审判期间被还押候审。

他的生活变得“黯淡”起来。

他回忆说，自己每天有23个小时被关在7平方米的牢房里，只有1个小时可以在院子里活动。他没有床，只能睡在地上的草席上。

“我曾与那些被判几年、二十年甚至终身监禁的人一起生活。楼下几层住着等待死刑的人。很长一段时间，这就是我的世界，”列夫写道。

他告诉亚洲新闻台，他在狱中读书，读完了100多本书。他还参加了宗教辅导课程，并成为了一名基督徒。

此外，他还报读了监狱学校，为他的 GCE A-Level 考试做准备，他将于 11 月参加该考试。

“我在书籍和信仰中，在朋友和家人中，在牢房里清唱歌曲和朗诵喜剧中，找到了我的‘意义’。还有我的母亲，”他在帖子中写道。

“当我在内心挣扎求生时，她却在外面为我而战。我不仅学会了如何生存，更学会了如何好好生活。”

列夫还提到了他现在的女友，两人于 2021 年开始交往，感谢她在他服刑期间一直支持他并经常去看望他。

他在帖子的结尾写道：“或许这终究是一部让人感觉良好的电影。至于下一部会是什么类型的电影？我不知道。但这是很久以来我第一次可以自己选择。”

他告诉亚洲新闻台，在被判无罪释放的当晚，他不知道母亲在新加坡住在哪里，只记得女友的地址，保安帮他叫了车后，他就去了那里。

列夫重新融入社会后感到格格不入，他还说，一开始他连过马路都很困难，因为一切变化太快了。

他写道，他对新加坡司法系统的信心已经恢复，并补充说：“这是一种解脱，但其中也夹杂着许多悲伤……以及一种黑暗。”

他现在的目标是收回因诉讼而遭受的经济损失（包括近 50 万美元的诉讼费），并成立招聘公司 Found Partners。

他还希望尝试在其他地方生活，最终重返创意产业，并与女友结婚。

在 Instagram 上查看此帖子 由 Lev Panfilov (@levpanf) 分享的帖子

Lev Panfilov (@levpanf) 分享的帖子

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