15 hours ago
29
SINGAPORE: The state coroner on Wednesday (Mar 25) 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 Mr Garg's widow about the finding by the PCG that there was no foul play, State Coroner Adam Nakhoda said PCG had carried out a comprehensive and thorough investigation in this case.
Instead, he found that Mr 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, said Mr Nakhoda.
Mr Garg, 52, had been intoxicated, and this likely impaired his judgment in his decisions, said Mr Nakhoda. 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.
WHAT HAPPENED
Mr Garg drowned in the waters off Lazarus Island on Sep 19, 2025 a day before he was slated to perform at the North East India Festival.
He was in Singapore for the festival, which was organised to mark 60 years of diplomatic relations between Singapore and India.
Mr 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 Mr Garg had agreed to the yacht trip and that there was no evidence he was coerced to join.
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 Mr 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.
INTOXICATION
Mr Nakhoda found that Mr Garg had been consuming alcohol in the days prior to and on the day of his death.
A toxicology analysis found that Mr Garg had a blood alcohol concentration of 333 milligrams per 100ml 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 Mr Garg's urine samples.
Mr 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 Mr Garg had suffered an epileptic fit prior to 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 Mr 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," said Mr Nakhoda.
No one has been charged in Singapore with any acts or omissions connected with Mr Garg's death, he added.
Mr Garg's uncle had attended an earlier hearing and raised concerns the family had over the death. These include why Mr Garg entered the sea and whether he had done so of his own free will.
The coroner found that Mr Garg had voluntarily gone on his two swims and was not forced or pushed into the water.
He found that the swimmers had assisted Mr Garg to the best of their abilities and found no evidence that his face was deliberately held underwater.
Charges have been filed in an Indian court against those on the yacht over Mr Garg's death.
