SINGAPORE: A coroner’s inquiry into the death of Indian singer Zubeen Garg (pic), who was found floating face down after a swim off Lazarus Island in 2025, has ruled that it was an accidental drowning.
Delivering his findings on March 25, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said there was no reason to disagree with the Police Coast Guard’s investigation conclusion after analysing the evidence before him.
A death certificate issued by the Singapore General Hospital listed the cause of death as drowning.
The popular singer from the north-eastern state of Assam had consumed alcohol and refused a life vest before jumping off a yacht on Sept 19, 2025, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) David Lim testified on the first day of the inquiry on Jan 14.
While his friends tried to convince him to return to the yacht, Garg became motionless. He was pulled back onto the yacht, where efforts were made to resuscitate him, but to no avail.
The artiste was in Singapore for the North East India Festival, a cultural festival organised by the Assamese community in Singapore. He was scheduled to perform on Sept 20.
The captain of the vessel, who also testified on Jan 14, said that Garg and about 15 others had boarded the yacht at Marina at Keppel Bay at around 2pm.
The captain testified that he saw several passengers, including Garg, drinking alcohol before boarding.
He said the singer was so unsteady, his friends had to hold onto his arms as he boarded the vessel.
While on the vessel, he walked unsteadily and needed help moving around.
The captain’s assistant told the court in January that no one had forced Garg to consume alcohol or enter the water.
He added that the singer and his entourage were informed on the yacht about the necessity of wearing life jackets before going for a swim.
At about 2.30pm, the group arrived near Lazarus Island. Garg initially put on a life jacket and jumped off the yacht.
He later removed it while in the water, as he found it was too big for him. When he returned to the yacht, he had to be helped on board as he was breathing heavily.
“It was apparent he was already exhausted by the short swim. I find the exhaustion was apparent by the fact he was unable to get onto the yacht himself and required assistance,” the coroner pointed out.
Later, Garg decided to join another man for a second swim towards Lazarus Island. Before he resumed swimming, he was handed a smaller life jacket but refused to wear it.
The coroner said the man who handed Garg the life jacket had made commendable efforts to try to put the life jacket on him, even holding on to Garg’s arm while waiting for the smaller life jacket to be passed over.
“Ultimately, his efforts were to no avail. Mr Garg steadfastly refused to wear nor (did he) allow the man to put the life jacket on him,” said the coroner.
Garg started to swim towards Lazarus Island alone, before four others swam after him after noticing he had not put on a life jacket.
“Having reviewed video evidence, his swim strokes appeared to be more akin to doggy paddling. It resembled the swim stroke of a person who was tired or fatigued,” the coroner said.
At one point, Garg decided to turn back and swim towards the yacht.
“Seeing as his drowning occurred shortly after he turned back and swam back towards the yacht, I found it was possible he decided to do so as he was very fatigued or he felt something was not right with himself physically,” said the coroner.
As he was doing so, he appeared to be swimming more slowly. The coroner said Garg likely lost consciousness, and his face became submerged in the water.
When the other swimmers noticed, they immediately swam towards Garg and supported him by lifting his head up and out of the water.
“I found the swimmers in the sea had assisted Mr Garg to the best of their abilities. There was no evidence to suggest his face had been deliberately held underwater,” the coroner said.
Garg was pulled back onto the yacht, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered to him while an emergency call was made at 3.36pm.
ASP Lim said a Police Coast Guard boat was dispatched and arrived at the yacht in less than 10 minutes.
The yacht was then guided to Marina South Pier, where an ambulance took Mr Garg to Singapore General Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 5.13pm.
The coroner said there was also no evidence of any delay of administration of first aid, nor delay in getting Garg back to the mainland to convey him to a hospital.
Autopsy
An autopsy report found that Garg had 333mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system, which would have impacted his coordination.
In comparison, the current drink driving limit is 80mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood.
Dr Chan Shijia, a pathologist from the Health Sciences Authority, testified at the inquiry that Garg had several injuries on his body, including bruising to his chest and lips.
These were consistent with resuscitation efforts, the pathologist added.
Medications for hypertension and epilepsy, which Garg had a history of, were found in his blood, with no other drugs detected.
Garg’s death caused an uproar in Assam, where fans stormed the home of his manager, Siddhartha Sharma, in Guwahati. The protest turned violent, and clashes broke out with the police.
Following his death, an investigation team in India charged multiple people, including the organiser of the festival in Singapore, Shyamkanu Mahanta, with murder.
Three other associates of the singer – Sharma, Shekhar Jyoti Goswami and Amritprava Mahanta – were also charged with the offence in India. - The Straits Times/ANN
