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

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. 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. THE SHOCK OF JAIL 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. 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." WHAT'S NEXT? 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."