Ian Fang and Lev Panfilov's PR statuses under review: ICA
Singapore permanent residents who have been convicted of offences will have their PR statuses reviewed, says the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority.
Ian Fang and Lev Panfilov. (Photos: Instagram/ianization, levpanf)
SINGAPORE: The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) is reviewing the permanent residence statuses of
Ian Fang and
Lev Panfilov, it said on Wednesday (May 21).
In response to questions from CNA about the two men's offences, ICA confirmed that Singapore permanent residents who have been convicted of offences will have their PR statuses reviewed by ICA.
"As the review of the PR statuses for Ian Fang and Lev Panfilov is ongoing, we are unable to share more details at this juncture," an ICA spokesperson said.
Fang, a former actor, was sentenced to 40 months' jail on Monday after pleading guilty to sexual offences involving a then 15-year-old minor.
The 35-year-old was born in Shanghai and educated in Singapore, and is a Singapore permanent resident.
Fang, whose registered name is Fang Wei Jie, pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual penetration of a girl under 16. Three similar charges were taken into consideration for sentencing, along with one count of obstructing justice and one count of stalking.
A gag order remains on the identity of Fang's victim, who was 15 at the time of the offences in 2024. He was an acting teacher with a child modelling school which provides classes for students aged four to 14 when the pair met at an entertainment event.
The maximum penalty Fang could have faced was a jail term of up to 10 years or a fine, or both. He
did not face caning for his offences.
Former Wah!Banana actor Panfilov, a permanent resident from Russia, was sentenced to 11 years and six months in jail, as well as 12 strokes of the cane, for raping, sexually assaulting and molesting a woman he met on dating app Tinder.
After his sentencing on Monday, the 29-year-old's lawyers confirmed that he will appeal his conviction and sentence. The victim in his case also cannot be named due to a gag order protecting her identity.
The high-profile verdict for Panfilov's case in March gained traction online after attracting comments from the former vice-president of the Law Society of Singapore Chia Boon Teck. In a post on LinkedIn, Mr Chia appeared to question the victim's actions and made comments that were
perceived as victim-shaming.
His comments drew widespread backlash and outrage from the public, including members of the legal fraternity, and the Law Society asked him to
resign from his post.
Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam also
weighed in, stating that "shaming and blaming victims steps over the line" and that "any misogyny should have no place in our society".
Those convicted of rape can be sentenced to a maximum of 20 years' jail and fined or caned.
The penalties for sexual assault by penetration are the same as those for rape.
Those convicted of molestation can be jailed for up to two years, fined, caned, or given any combination of these punishments.
Source: CNA/hw(kg)
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/sin...fT1rPvxbSUexfzfUlr_aem_1o1HR9Z6bAYf-YqjBWBf8g
