Man loses case to claw back $369,000 he spent on lavish gifts for ex-girlfriend
A Singaporean court has ruled that a man cannot recover over $360,000 spent on his ex-girlfriend, determining the money was given as gifts rather than loans. The judge noted a lack of evidence for a loan agreement and suggested the lawsuit was motivated by bitterness after the relationship ended.
Why it matters
The case serves as a legal precedent regarding the distinction between financial gifts and loans in personal relationships.
Image source, Getty Images Image caption, The man "was determined to extract a price from her" after their relationship soured, the judge said
A Singaporean man has lost a court case to claw back hundreds of thousands of dollars that he had lavished on his ex-girlfriend while they were together.
The S$468,000 ($369,200; £273,260) that Chander Agarwal attempted to recover from Felicia Lee was money he had "willingly" spent on her, the Singapore High Court ruled.
Agarwal "displayed a consistent pattern of showering [Lee] with lavish gifts" even before they got together and would reassure her that he did not expect repayment, Senior Judge Lee Seiu Kin said.
Agarwal, the CEO of a logistics company, met Felicia Lee, a former flight attendant, during a flight in 2019. They were in a romantic relationship from September 2022 to December 2023, the court heard.
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