Singapore: Singer and composer Zubeen Garg’s death was due to “accidental drowning”, Singapore’s state coroner Adam Nakhoda said on Wednesday, as reported by Straits Times.
While delivering his findings, Nakhoda reportedly said that there was no reason to disagree with the Police Coast Guard’s conclusion of investigation after analysing the evidence before him.
Earlier, on January 14, assistant superintendent of police David Lim, who is with the Singapore Police Coast Guard, had testified before the court that Garg had consumed alcohol and refused a life vest before jumping off the yacht.
The superstar from Assam apparently became motionless as his friends tried to convince him to swim back to the yacht, Lim said. He further said witnesses noted that Garg did not have any suicidal tendencies and was not subjected to duress or coercion before his death.
The yacht captain’s assistant had also testified that no one had forced Garg to drink alcohol or enter the water, and that Garg and the rest of the group had been briefed on the yacht that they ought to don life jackets before swimming.
Garg was in Singapore in September 2025 as a cultural brand ambassador for the North East India Festival. Before the festival began, he went for a yacht outing, reportedly organised by members of the Assam Association Singapore, and lost consciousness while swimming.
He was taken to the Singapore General Hospital where he was declared dead. The death certificate issued by Singapore authorities stated that the cause of death was drowning.
His death led to a major furore in Assam, with lakhs turning up for his funeral and claiming that he was murdered. The Assam Police charged four people with murder and claimed Garg was made to get drunk and encouraged to swim, as reported by Hindustan Times.
The matter is currently being heard by a sessions court in Guwahati. A special fast-track court has been announced to conduct the trial on a day-to-day basis.
It has been reported by The Straits Times that the coroner noted Garg had been exhausted before he went for his last swim. The report noted that he jumped off the yacht to swim wearing a life jacket, which he took off in the water because he found it too big, and that he seemed exhausted when he returned to the yacht.
“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,” it reported the coroner as saying.
Nakhoda observed that Garg later decided to join another man for a second swim and refused to wear a smaller life jacket, even though the man who handed it to him tried to convince him.
“Ultimately, his efforts were to no avail. Mr Garg steadfastly refused to wear or allow the man to put the life jacket on him… 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 has been quoted as saying.
Garg then turned to swim back to the yacht, and began swimming more slowly and likely lost consciousness, The coroner’s report said. Other swimmers rushed towards him and tried to help him “to the best of their abilities”, Nakhoda said.
The coroner also said there was no evidence of any delay in the administration of first aid, nor delay in getting Garg back to the mainland to convey him to a hospital.
