A Singapore police investigator has told a coroner’s court that singer-composer Zubeen Garg was “intoxicated” and swimming “without” the mandatory life vest when he drowned in the City State on September 19, according to a report published in The Straits Times on Wednesday.
Assistant superintendent of police (ASP) David Lim of the Singapore Police Coast Guard made the disclosure while testifying during a hearing at the coroner’s court.
Quoting Lim, the leading English daily stated that Zubeen had “consumed alcohol and refused a life vest before jumping off a yacht”. His friends tried to “convince” him to swim back to the yacht, and he eventually had to be “pulled back to the yacht” after he “suddenly became motionless and began floating face down”, the report said.
A coroner’s inquiry (CI), according to the Singapore Police Force (SPF), is a fact-finding process led by the coroner to “establish the cause and circumstances of death”, and its findings will be “made public upon conclusion”.
The popular 52-year-old singer-composer died in Singapore while swimming during a yacht outing on September 19, a death that is currently being probed in his home state of Assam.
The case assumes significance because a special investigation team (SIT) of the Assam police, which is also probing the case, has invoked murder charges against four of the seven arrested accused. The bail hearing for the four accused is scheduled for the sessions court here on January 17.
Zubeen was visiting Singapore to attend the North East India Festival starting September 20. His untimely death plunged Assam into collective grief, triggering widespread calls for justice.
According to the report, Garg’s friends tried to resuscitate him, but he was later pronounced dead at the hospital on September 19, 2025.
At the hearing, which was attended by Zubeen’s nephew and uncle among others, the report quoted Lim as saying: “He did not wear a life jacket, despite repeated reminders by the yacht captain to wear one.”
ASP Lim also stated that the singer did not have any suicidal tendencies and was “not subjected to duress or coercion before his death”.
The singer had “333 milligrams of alcohol per 100ml of blood” according to his autopsy report. For comparison, the permissible drink-driving limit is 80mg per 100ml of blood. The report noted that this level of intoxication “would have” affected his coordination.
Zubeen and his team were briefed about wearing life jackets while swimming when they boarded the yacht at 2pm. Zubeen initially put one on while jumping in for a swim but removed it while in the water because “he found it too big for him”, the report said, adding that he returned to the yacht because he “was breathing heavily.”
Lim testified: “The deceased then decided to resume swimming, and a smaller life jacket was placed over his shoulders, but he refused to wear it.” Those with him tried to convince him to return, but the “deceased became motionless and was floating face down” and “foaming” from the mouth.
An emergency call was made at 3.36pm while cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered. A coast guard boat reached the yacht within ten minutes. It was guided to Marina South Pier, where an ambulance took the singer to Singapore General Hospital. He was pronounced dead at 5.13pm on September 19.
The Singapore Police Force issued a statement on December 18 saying it does “not suspect foul play in the death of Mr. Garg” based on investigations so far.
“Upon completion of the SPF’s investigations, the findings will be submitted to the state coroner in Singapore, who will hold a coroner’s inquiry (CI). The CI is currently scheduled for January and February,” the statement read.
The December 18 SPF statement also said it was “committed to conducting a thorough and professional investigation into the case”, while seeking the “patience and understanding of the parties involved” and urging the public “not to speculate and spread unverified information”.