In a major development in the Zuben Garg case, a Singapore court was told on Wednesday that the singer was “severely intoxicated” and drowned off Lazarus Island after declining a life jacket. Notably, Singapore police reiterated that they do not suspect any foul play in his death.
"At the time, he was also severely intoxicated and several witnesses saw him trying to swim back to the yacht when he went limp and began floating with his face in the water," Channel News Asia reported, citing the investigating officer.
Garg was at a yacht party on 19 September when he drowned, a day before he was scheduled to perform at the North East India Festival in Singapore.
The court was further told that the 52-year-old had a history of hypertension and epilepsy, with his most recent recorded epileptic attack occurring in 2024.
However, it remained unknown whether he had taken his prescribed epilepsy medication on the day of the incident, as eyewitness accounts were insufficient to confirm this.
The singer had initially worn a life jacket but removed it and later refused to put on a second one offered to him, the chief investigating officer told the court at the opening of the inquiry, Channel News Asia reported.
Police told the court that their probe revealed Garg and around 20 others on board the yacht, including friends and colleagues, had consumed snacks, drinks, and alcohol during the outing.
Reportedly,Garg was seen drinking alcohol, with one one the eyewitnesses claiming he consumed several cups of liquor, including gin and whisky.
According to the chief investigating officer’s reconstruction of events, Garg later went for a swim during which he removed his life jacket.
Garg entered the water without a life jacket and started swimming alone in the direction of Lazarus Island.
The officer told the court that a post-mortem examination confirmed drowning as the cause of Garg’s death and while some injuries were found on the body, they were determined to have occurred during CPR and rescue attempts.
