The case was mishandled by HR.
I was offered an invitation to attend the workshop free-of-charge. I asked for another FOC seat for Ekaparp. However, Ekaparp was concerned that HR might require him to sign a one-year contract for attending, so I recommended him get clarification with HR. But HR jumped to add Atsadawut and wanted three more seats.
The budget for each attendee will be: ticket to and from HKG, hotel accommodation, and per-diem(?) FYI, this is not a training class but only an information session