A High Court in Singapore has dismissed a case brought by a man seeking to recover approximately S$468,000 in expenditures he claimed he had provided to his ex-girlfriend as loans during their relationship.
Chander Agarwal, CEO of a logistics company, met Felicia Lee, a former flight attendant, during a flight in 2019. The two began a romantic relationship that lasted from September 2022 until December 2023. Agarwal filed suit in March 2024 after the relationship ended, seeking reimbursement for various expenses he contended Lee had requested from him. These alleged requests encompassed S$206,000 in credit card charges, S$129,000 for international travel, S$17,000 for consultation with a fengshui master regarding her apartment, and S$20,000 for life insurance premium payments.
Lee disputed the characterization of these transactions as loans, maintaining instead that they constituted gifts given in a spirit of love and affection. Senior Judge Lee Seiu Kin sided with the defendant, determining that Agarwal had willingly provided the funds without expectation of repayment. The judge emphasized that Agarwal’s evidence lacked substantiation—specifically, he could not demonstrate any documentation showing that Lee had acknowledged receiving or requesting the purported loans.
The court noted a pattern in which Agarwal had consistently given expensive gifts both before and during their relationship, repeatedly assuring Lee that he anticipated no return of the funds. The judge observed through text message evidence that Lee had frequently expressed reluctance or surprise at Agarwal’s gift proposals. The court also highlighted the disparity in financial circumstances between the two parties, with Agarwal described as a man of substantial means with expensive tastes, whereas Lee occupied a different economic position.
The judgment reflected that Agarwal’s motivation to recover the funds arose only after the relationship deteriorated following his suspicion that Lee had been unfaithful. The case adds to a pattern of similar disputes in Singapore, including a prior instance in which another man had filed claims exceeding S$3 million against a woman who rejected his romantic overtures, cases that were ultimately struck down by the courts.
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