A student's near-death experience after he was 'forgotten' in a solitary cell for 5 days

This is a flashback because it happened in 2012 and was one of the biggest DEA scandals in the US.


Daniel Chong, a student of the University of California San Diego was among those who were in a house raided for drugs. He was arrested, handcuffed and thrown in a Drug Enforcement Administration holding cell.

Seven of the nine detainees were then taken to county jail, one was released, and Chong was accidentally left in a holding cell at the DEA office, according to the DEA. Chong said he was told that he had been in the wrong place at the wrong time and that he would be released and even given a ride home.

He was placed in a 5 by 10 feet (1.5 m × 3.0 m) holding cell, his wrists bound in handcuffs. He was then left in the windowless cell for five days despite repeated cries for help. He could hear people walking around outside the room but could not get their attention.

Chong was left in a windowless room without food and water. He was forced to drink his own urine hoping it would help him stay alive.

He drank his own urine to survive and even wrote a farewell note to his mother before authorities discovered him severely dehydrated after a 2012 drug raid in San Diego.


While detained, Chong had given up and accepted death, using a broken piece of glass from his eyeglasses to carve "Sorry Mom" onto his arm as a farewell message.  Chong lost 15 pounds and suffered from severe post-traumatic stress disorder.

When he was eventually found, Chong was incoherent and suffering from kidney failure. He was rushed to the hospital where he spent three days in the ICU.

There was no toilet, only a metal bench on which he stood in a futile attempt to set off the sprinkler system with his cuffed hands.

Chong was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and was treated by a doctor who normally treats veterans who have returned from battle. The doctor said he had "never seen stress or trauma as significant" as Chong's situation.

Eventually,  the DEA issued a formal apology.

As a result of his case, it's one of the primary reasons the DEA placed a nationwide policy that calls on each agent at satellite offices to check on the well-being of prisoners in their cells on a daily basis.


No criminal action was taken against any individual officers. Chong sued the DEA for $20 million and was later awarded $4.1 million.
Just a though: Is it the same Daniel Chong who is the creator of We Bare Bears, the animated series which shows on Cartoon Network?