ORDEAL

Student Held for 5 Days Sues DEA

Says imprisonment without food, water is torture.

A UC San Diego student allegedly held for five days without food or water filed a $20 million lawsuit against the Drug Enforcement Agency, saying the imprisonment qualifies as torture. Daniel Chong, 23, was arrested on April 21 in a drug raid, and then he alleges that he was taken to a holding cell without food, water or a bathroom. He said he survived by drinking his own urine and ate his own glasses during a hallucination brought on by severe dehydration. He was discovered on April 25, when he was taken to a hospital and then spent five days in recovery. While the DEA has declined to answer specific questions on the incident, it issued a statement to the Watchdog earlier this week acknowledging the mistake.