Student in US cell ordeal seeks £12m

A student who was left handcuffed and forgotten in a tiny holding cell for four days is suing US authorities for $20m (£12.4m).

After two days and desperate for food and water, Daniel Chong said he realised he had to stop wondering when he would be let out and start thinking about how to stay alive.

Entering what he called “survival mode,” and already drinking his own urine, he tried to trigger an overhead fire sprinkler for some water, stacking clothes and a blanket and swinging his cuffed arms in an attempt to set it off.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Chong, 23, a student at the University of California, San Diego, had been picked up in a drug sweep but was never arrested or charged.

He spent four days forgotten in the windowless cell before Drug Enforcement Administration agents opened the door.

His lawyers have filed the claim against the Drug Enforcement Administration, saying his treatment constitutes torture under US and international law.