A UC San Diego engineering student has settled his false imprisonment case against the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) for $4.1 million.
Daniel Chong was left in a DEA holding cell for four days without food and water in April 2012 after agents raided the home of a friend. They found 18,000 ecstasy pills, among other drugs, as well as weapons. Chong was among the nine people taken into custody but was told that he would not be charged.
Unfortunately, the agents forgot about him. When they remembered him nearly five days later, he was starved, dehydrated, hallucinating and covered in his own waste.
Chong’s account of his ordeal is the stuff of stoner buddy comedies along the lines of the Harold & Kumar movies. He became so thirsty that he peed on a metal bench so he could lap up the urine. In an effort to set off the fire sprinkler in hopes of getting water, the handcuffed Chong carefully stacked his blanket, pants and shoes on the bench to give himself a couple extra inches of height so he could swat at the sprinkler — to no avail.
On the third day he began hallucinating. Accepting what he felt was certain death Chong bit into his eyeglasses to break them, then used a shard to carve “Sorry Mom” onto his arm. He only managed to carve the “S”.
Chong lost 15 pounds during his ordeal and was hospitalized for dehydration, kidney failure, cramps and a perforated esophagus from shouting for help.
The settlement was announced on Tuesday by Chong’s attorney Eugene Iredale. He had filed a suit against the federal government last year seeking $20 million in damages. The settlement was negotiated with the Justice Department which represented the United States through the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of California.
