Former Wah!Banana staff, 27, charged with molesting & raping woman he met on Tinder

He will appear in court on May 17, 2023.

Fiona Tan | May 16, 2023, 02:56 PM

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Lev Panfilov, a 27-year-old online personality in Singapore, is charged with molesting, sexually assaulting and raping a woman in 2021.

Met on Tinder

Panfilov is facing a total of four charges of molesting, sexually assaulting and raping the woman, according to court documents.

The woman cannot be named due to a court issued gag order.

He was 24 years old when he met the woman on the mobile dating application Tinder.

The woman, 30 years old then, was using the application to meet new people and broaden her social circle.

She came across Panfilov's profile and decided to match with him.

She was trying to write a script and thought that she could obtain advice and feedback from Panfilov as he had mentioned in his profile that he was a scriptwriter.

Met up in real life on Jan. 12, 2021

The pair arranged to meet after chatting on the application, as well as on the messaging platform WhatsApp.

They met on the night of Jan. 12, 2021 at Wine Connection at Robertson Quay, where they had a meal and discussed the woman's script.

When the restaurant was closing at around 10pm, Panfilov suggested to the woman that they go to his condominium unit to continue working on the script.

The woman agreed.

The pair watched YouTube videos of comedians, discussed comedic principles and worked on the woman's script in Panfilov's bedroom in the condominium unit.

He was sharing the condominium unit with roommates at that time, where he occupied one of the three bedrooms in the unit.

Showed his true colours

Sometime during the night, Panfilov made his move, shedding his "facade of civility" to show "his true colours", said Deputy Public Prosecutor Sruthi Boppana.

He allegedly forced a kiss on the victim, before proceeding to "to rapidly escalate his sexual assault on her".

Deputy Public Prosecutor Boppana said Panfilov grabbed the woman's breasts, sexually assaulted her and then raped her.

She said Panfilov violated the woman despite her "repeated entreaties for him to stop", all while he was fully aware that she did not consent to his sexual advancements.

Once "satiated", Panfilov told the woman she could leave and booked her a private hire vehicle to her house after the alleged assault.

The woman made a police report against Panfilov on Jan. 18, 2021, after her mother caught her crying in her room.

Her mother also brought her to KK Women's and Children's Hospital on the same day as she was experiencing pain in her lower abdominal region.

Claiming trial

Panfilov is claiming trial to the four charges and appeared in court on May 16, 2023.

He is represented by Anil Balchandani and Ashwin Ganapathy from I.R.B Law LLP.

Deputy Public Prosecutor Boppana, Sheldon Lim, and David Khoo will be calling 14 witnesses to prove their case.

This includes an investigation officer who spoke to Panfilov and seized his underwear and bedding.

Panfilov is set to appear in court next on May 17, 2023.

Those convicted of rape and sexual assault by penetration can respectively be sentenced up to 20 years' jail and fined or caned.

Those convicted of molestation can be jailed up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.

Ex-Wah!Banana staff

Panfilov, who is originally from Russia, has become a Singapore permanent resident.

He is known for appearing on homegrown YouTube channel Wah!Banana.

Based on his LinkedIn, he was a creative specialist for the channel from May 2020 to May 2021.

He remains active on his own social media accounts, where he uploads skits, since his departure from Wah!Banana.

He is currently a consulting manager at a recruiting firm.

Panfilov is the second Wah!Banana staff to be accused of sexual misconduct, the first being YouTuber and local actor Eden Ang in 2018.

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Top image from @levpanf/Instagram & TikTok