India, Jan. 14 -- Popular Assamese singer-songwriter Zubeen Garg declined to wear a life jacket shortly before he drowned during a yacht outing in Singapore last September, a coroner's court was told on Wednesday, media reports said.

Garg, 52, was part of a private yacht party on September 19, a day before he was scheduled to perform at the North East India Festival in Singapore.

When he decided to re-enter the water, Garg was offered a second, smaller life jacket, which he refused. He then entered the sea without any flotation aid and began swimming alone towards Lazarus Island.

He was pulled back onto the yacht, where cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was administered. However, he was pronounced dead later that day.

An autopsy det...