Defence appeals rape conviction of ex-Wah!Banana actor, alleging woman fabricated evidence
Defence lawyers for Lev Panfilov argued that the woman's accounts were inconsistent and urged the court to acquit the Russian man of all charges.
Singaporean actor Lev Panfilov, a former Wah!Banana performer, has had his rape conviction appealed by his defence lawyers, who claim inconsistencies in the victim's account and allege fabricated evidence. Panfilov, serving an 11-and-a-half-year jail sentence for the alleged assault, faced four charges including rape, sexual assault, and molestation.
The case hinged on whether the sexual encounter was consensual or not, as the prosecution had to prove the allegation unusually convincingly. The defence argued that the woman's account was inconsistent, her evidence fabricated, and her actions after the incident suspicious. They highlighted discrepancies such as the blood-stained panties she produced, which allegedly came from a period that began two days after the alleged assault, and her inconsistent account of screaming during the encounter.
The defence also questioned why the woman did not leave the apartment after the alleged assault and why her hair was not manhandled, contradicting her testimony. The Court of Appeal, comprising Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon, Justice Ang Cheng Hock, and Justice Sushil Nair, heard the appeal on Thursday. While the Chief Justice questioned the materiality of some inconsistencies, he acknowledged that analysing CCTV footage was a matter of considering physical evidence.
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