CEO who sued ex-girlfriend to recover SG$468,090 spent on lavish gifts loses case
A Singaporean CEO has failed in his bid to sue his ex-girlfriend for SG$468,090 (P23.2 million) in an attempt to recover what he spent on luxury gifts for her.
During Chander Agarwal's relationship with Felicia Lee, he reportedly showered her with lavish gifts from Hermes, Dior, Prada, and first-class flight tickets, as per CNN.
Court documents also showed that the CEO of logistics company TCI Express paid for SG$20,000 (P989,000) of Lee's life insurance premiums, a university program, and SG$206,000 (P10.2 million) in credit card bills for her personal expenses. He also spent SG$17,000 (P840,000) on a feng shui master to "spiritually harmonize" Lee's flat.
Agarwal and Lee, a former flight attendant, met on a flight in 2019 and began a romantic relationship in 2022. They called it quits in 2023 after the CEO suspected that she was cheating on him.
Agarwal sued his ex in 2024, arguing that his gifts had to be repaid. Lee disputed this, saying the gifts were given out of "love and affection." The CEO said they signed a handwritten agreement supporting his claim, but the ex-girlfriend denied ever signing it.
The Singapore High Court, however, dismissed the case on Sept. 10, stating a lack of evidence in proving Lee had acknowledged the gifts were loans.
"It is incredible that for a relationship that lasted for more than a year with so many WhatsApp messages exchanged between them, the claimant could not point to any written evidence supporting his case," senior judge Lee Seiu Kin wrote in his judgment.
He added that Agarwal was clearly "smitten" when he showered her with lavish gifts throughout the relationship.
“It is also inherently incredible that the Defendant, with her relatively modest salary, would repeatedly borrow such significant sums to spend on luxury items," the judge continued.
"Heav'n has no rage, like love to hatred turn'd, nor hell a fury like a woman scorn'd," Kin said, quoting William Congreve. "The case shows that such emotion is not the sole province of one gender."