Legendary singer-songwriter Zubeen Garg was extremely drunk and refused to wear a life jacket before he drowned off Lazarus Island in Singapore in September.
Garg, 52, was at a yacht party on September 19, 2025, when he died of drowning a day before he was slated to perform at the North East India Festival in Singapore.
A coroner's court in Singapore was told on Wednesday that Garg initially wore a life jacket, but removed it later. He refused to wear a second jacket offered to him, the chief investigating officer told the court in the opening of the inquiry, according to media reports.
Quoting the chief investigating officer, Channel News Asia said at that time, the singer was severely intoxicated, and many witnesses saw him trying to swim back to the yacht when he went limp and began floating with his face in the water.
Garg was rescued and brought back to the yacht, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered to him. However, he was pronounced dead later that same day. The cause of death was determined as drowning, and the injury marks found on his body were attributed to the rescue efforts and CPR, as per the autopsy.
Toxicology tests showed that Garg’s blood alcohol concentration was 333 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood, a level consistent with severe intoxication and significant impairment of coordination and reflexes.
“The evidence of several witnesses, provided via their statements to the court, stated that Mr Garg had no suicidal tendencies and that he was not pushed into the water but had jumped in himself for a swim,” the news report said, citing the court hearing.
The court was also told that the singer had a medical history of hypertension and epilepsy, with his last known epileptic episode in 2024.
However, it is unclear if he had taken his regular medicine for epilepsy on the day of the incident, with the evidence of eyewitnesses insufficient to establish that he had actually taken it, the court was told.
The Singapore police do not suspect any foul play in his death.
The captain of the yacht claimed that he had given two safety briefings, and that when he saw Garg entering waters without a life jacket the second time, he said, I told his friend that he is drunk, and if he wants to get into the water, he needs to wear a life jacket.