Singer Zubeen Garg died due to accidental drowning off a Singapore island: Coroner

A State coroner on Wednesday upheld the Singapore Police Coast Guard’s (PCG) finding that there was no foul play in the death of Indian singer Zubeen Garg and ruled the death an accidental drowning near an island of the city state in September last year.

Directly addressing a concern raised by Garg’s widow regarding the PCG’s finding that there was no foul play, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda stated that the PCG had conducted a comprehensive and thorough investigation in this case. Instead, Nakhoda found that Garg’s death was “simply due to an unfortunate and tragic accidental drowning” and that no one had forced, coerced or pushed him into the water.

There was also no evidence that the swimmers rescuing him had deliberately held his face underwater, the Channel News Asia reported, citing Nakhoda.

Garg, 52, had been intoxicated, and this likely impaired his judgment in his decisions, said Nakhoda.

This included the removal of his life jacket during his first swim and his “steadfast” refusal to wear it on his second swim despite being told to don the equipment by the yacht captain and other passengers.

Garg drowned in the waters off Lazarus Island on September 19, 2025, a day before he was slated to perform at the North East India Festival. The singer was in Singapore for a festival organised to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and India. The festival was cancelled on learning of the singer’s death.

Garg was invited to perform at the festival as one of the most popular singers in the state of Assam and likely in North East India, the court heard.

The coroner found that Garg had agreed to the yacht trip and that there was no evidence that he was coerced into it.

A group of about 20 dropped anchor on a yacht they were on between Lazarus Island and St John’s Island and took part in activities such as drinking alcohol, swimming and kayaking.

Witnesses saw Garg drinking alcohol, with one saying he had consumed a few cups of liquor, gin and whisky, along with a few sips of Guinness Stout (beer), according to the Channel report. Garg went for the first swim with a life jacket on, but later removed it and refused another jacket when he went on a second swim towards Lazarus Island.

Members of the group on the yacht shouted for him to be brought back as he was not wearing a life jacket, and Garg turned and was swimming back to the vessel when he went limp in the water. He was rescued back to the yacht and later taken to the hospital, where he died. An autopsy determined the cause of death to be drowning.  Coroner Nakhoda found that Garg had been consuming alcohol in the days prior to and on the day of his death.

A toxicology analysis found that Garg had a blood alcohol concentration of 333 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood, which suggests severe intoxication resulting in impaired coordination and reflexes, the court had previously heard.

For comparison, the legal limit in Singapore is 80 milligrams per 100ml of blood. A high concentration of ethanol was also found in Garg’s urine samples.

Garg has a medical history of hypertension and epilepsy, with his last known epileptic episode in 2024, the court heard. While the coroner accepted that it was possible that Garg had suffered an epileptic fit prior to his drowning, the evidence was inconclusive to make a definitive finding on this, said the Channel report.

The court also found there was “nothing untoward” or “sinister” about the invitation extended to Garg to perform at the festival.

The members of the Assam Association Singapore had gone out of their way to make his visit to Singapore as interesting as possible, the coroner found.

He stressed the coroner’s court does not establish whether potential offences were committed.

The question of whether an offence is disclosed is the prerogative of the police prosecutor, following investigations conducted by the police.

 “In circumstances where the police have established that there is no foul play involved, and the public prosecutor has concurred with this conclusion, it would be improper for the coroner to make a finding that criminal offences were committed,” the Channel had Nakhoda as saying.

No one has been charged in Singapore with any acts or omissions connected with Garg’s death, he added. Garg’s uncle had attended an earlier hearing and raised concerns the family had over the death, including why Garg entered the sea and whether he had done so of his own free will.

The coroner found that Garg had voluntarily gone on his two swims and was not forced or pushed into the water. He found the swimmers had assisted Garg to the best of their abilities and found no evidence that his face was deliberately held underwater.