Man showers girlfriend with $369,000 in lavish gifts, then sues to get the money back after breakup

A Singaporean man has officially lost his legal battle to reclaim hundreds of thousands of dollars he spent on his former girlfriend during their time together. Chander Agarwal, the CEO of a logistics company, attempted to recover S$468,000, which is approximately $369,200, from his ex-partner, Felicia Lee. 

As reported by BBC, the Singapore High Court ruled against him, determining that the money was spent willingly and without any expectation of repayment. Senior Judge Lee Seiu Kin presided over the case, noting that Agarwal had established a clear pattern of buying expensive items for Lee even before they officially started their relationship.

The relationship between the two reportedly began after they met on a flight in 2019. They were officially together from September 2022 until December 2023. Things eventually went south when Agarwal began to suspect that Lee was having an affair. 

He claims the funds were interest-free loans 

Following the breakup, Agarwal filed his lawsuit in March 2024. He argued that the funds provided to Lee were actually interest-free loans rather than gifts. His claim included S$206,000 in credit card charges, S$129,000 spent on overseas travel, S$17,000 for a fengshui master for her home, and S$20,000 for life insurance premiums. 

However, the court found his argument lacked merit because there was no documentary evidence to support the claim that these were loans. Agarwal could reportedly not produce any proof that Lee had ever acknowledged receiving a loan or that she had agreed to pay him back. 

In contrast, Lee maintained that the money was simply part of the gifts made out of love and affection. The judge sided with this perspective, pointing out that Agarwal was clearly smitten and enjoyed the act of showering her with luxury. The court observed that Agarwal is a man of ample means with expensive tastes, while Lee was not in that same financial league.

The judge noted that in many text messages, Lee reportedly actually expressed her awe when Agarwal suggested expensive gifts. On several occasions, she even showed a spontaneous reluctance to accept them. The judge concluded that when the relationship ended on a sour note, Agarwal became embittered and was determined to extract a price from her.

The judge even reportedly referenced the English playwright William Congreve in his written judgment, specifically a line from the tragedy satire The Mourning Bride. He quoted: “Heav’n has no rage, like love to hatred turn’d, nor hell a fury, like a woman scorn’d.” The judge followed this by stating, “This case shows that such emotion is not the sole province of one gender.”