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Singapore’s state coroner on Wednesday upheld the 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.
Directly addressing a concern raised by Garg’s widow about the finding by the PCG that there was no foul play, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said the PCG had carried out a comprehensive and thorough investigation in this case.
Instead, he 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 under water, Nakhoda said.
Garg, 52, had been intoxicated, and this likely impaired his judgment in his decisions, Nakhoda said. This included his removal of his life jacket during his first swim and his “steadfast” refusal to wear it on his second swim.
This was 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 Northeast India Festival.
He was in Singapore for the festival, which was organised to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and India.
Garg was invited to perform at the festival as one of the most popular singers in the state of Assam and likely in northeast India, the court heard.
The coroner found that Garg had agreed to the yacht trip and that there was no evidence he was coerced into joining.
A group of about 20 dropped anchor 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 witness saying he had consumed a few cups of liquor, gin and whisky, along with a few sips of Guinness Stout.
He 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 Mr 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 hospital, where he died.
An autopsy determined the cause of death to be drowning.
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 80mg 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 before his drowning, the evidence was inconclusive to make a definitive finding on this.
The court also found that 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 that 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,” Nakhoda said.
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. These include 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 that the swimmers had assisted Garg to the best of their abilities and found no evidence that his face was deliberately held under water.
Charges have been filed in an Indian court against those on the yacht over Garg’s death.
This story was first published by CNA


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State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said no one had forced, coerced or pushed Garg into the waters off Lazarus Island last year


State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said no one had forced, coerced or pushed Garg into the waters off Lazarus Island last year.


India

Fame and celebrity

Singapore coroner rules Indian singer Zubeen Garg’s death accidental drowning

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said no one had forced, coerced or pushed Garg into the waters off Lazarus Island last year

State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said no one had forced, coerced or pushed Garg into the waters off Lazarus Island last year