Singer Zubeen was 'severely intoxicated', refused life vest before swimming: Singapore police

New and shocking details have emerged related to the death of Assam singer Zubeen Garg. On Wednesday, Jan 14, Singapore police told a court that the singer was severely intoxicated and refused to wear a life vest while swimming in the deep waters of Lazarus Island in Singapore.

Garg, best known for songs in the films including Gangster, Krrish 3, and Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, among others, has died on Sept 19 at the age of 52. Initially, it was reported that he died during a scuba diving incident. However, later it was revealed that he died due to drowning.

Singer Zubeen was 'severely intoxicated', refused a life vest before swimming: Singapore police

On Wednesday, Singapore police told the Coroner's court that Garg, who had consumed alcohol and refused a life vest before jumping off a yacht in September 2025, said Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) David Lim.

In the first of a coroner’s inquiry into Garg’s death, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) David Lim, who was the first to take the stand at a coroner’s inquiry into the death of the singer, which was attended by Garg’s uncle and nephew.

Garg and 15 other individuals boarded the yacht at Marina at Keppel Bay at around 2 pm on Sept 19, 2025.

Lim shared that ASP Lim said witnesses noted that Garg did not have any ‘’suicidal tendencies.'' He shared that the singer consumed alcohol and refused to wear a life vest. His friends on the yacht tried to convince the singer to swim back to the yacht, but he became motionless and began floating face down.

The investigator shared that the singer was pulled back to the yacht, where efforts were made to rescue him, and CPR was administered. He was later taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

“He did not wear a life jacket, despite repeated reminders by the yacht captain to wear one,” added the investigator, as per The Straits Times.

In the autopsy report, it was found that Garg had 333mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood in his system, which would have impacted his coordination. The current drink driving limit is 80mgof alcohol per 100ml of blood.

The captain of the vessel had shared that he saw Garg and several passengers, drinking alcohol before boarding the yacht.

Zubeen Garg's case: What we know so far.

These shocking details come after in India Special Investigation Team probing into the death of singer Garg submitted its chargesheet in the case at the Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in Assam's Guwahati. While Singapore Police never suspected a foul play, his death has also sparked suspicion in Assam and other parts of the country, with his fans demanded a investigation.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma also called Zubeen Garg’s death “a plain and simple murder” and not an accident. During the investigation, Zubeen’s cousin Sandipan Garg, his manager Siddharth Sharma, event organiser Shyamkanu Mahanta, bandmate Shekhar Jyoti Goswami, and musician Amritprava Mahanta were taken into custody as part of the probe.