On The Thorn of a Dilemma

It is a story resonant with a theme that would have attracted the 19th Century French novelist Alexandre Dumas, absent the modern overtones. The description of the internment of a young man, forgotten and abandoned and slowly dying in agony, his presence unknown to anyone but himself as he prepares to leave life. Unwillingly, helplessly, bound, imprisoned, left to his own unavailing devices.

Even as he felt hopeless he fought back against what seemed inevitable.

He has the face of an angel, and was placed in a situation that brought him to understand what Hell might be like. "All I wanted was my sanity. I wasn't making any sense. When they finally opened the door, I was happy. I thought maybe they were going to take me to a mental ward. I was screaming."

This May 1, 2012, file photo shows Daniel Chong at a news conference where he discussed his detention by the DEA in San Diego. Attorneys college student Chong who was forgotten in Drug Enforcement Administration holding cell for more than four days plan to announce an 'important development' in their case at a news conference Tue. July 30, 2013. (AP / U-T San Diego, K.C. Alfred)

Daniel Chong, a 25-year-old college student studying engineering in California was picked up along with eight others in a house in San Diego. There had been a raid by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. The house in which he was visiting with friends and smoking up was under surveillance. Early on Saturday morning, Daniel Chong was awakened as he slept on a front room couch, and taken into custody.

While he had been smoking marijuana, the officers took possession of 18,000 ecstasy pills along with other types of drugs, and weapons as well. All nine were taken to the San Diego field office of the DEA for interviews. Daniel was placed in a windowless cell, his hands manacled. Not to worry, he was told, he'd be there only a few moments. There was no intention to charge him said the officer, telling the young man "Hang tight, we'll come get you in a minute".

That minute never happened. The police officer was called away to perform some other DEA work. Mr. Chong was securely locked in the windowless cell. Lights were on, but that few minutes turned into three days and then the lights went out. By then he was beyond desperate. He'd had nothing to eat or drink, he had tried to collect his own urine, and with his handcuffed wrists tried to stand on a pile of clothing on a bench to reach an overhead fire sprinkler; unsuccessfully.

He kicked at the door, screamed for help, but there was no response. He smashed his eyeglasses to use a shard of glass to try to carve a message on his arm for his mother. When he was finally discovered on the fourth day of miserable hell he was covered in feces, and completely traumatized. "He really did sustain a near-death experience", said a lawyer representing him. The DEA apologized for the "accident".

"I'm pretty much recovered by now", said the young man. "My kidneys are doing well. I can't assume it was deliberate. I think it was what it sounded like -- a really horrible accident." After his rescue he was hospitalized for dehydration, kidney failure, cramps and a perforated esophagus. He had lost 6.8 kilograms. 

He has reached a $4.1-million settlement with the U.S. government, and plans to return to university.
"The given is buying a home for my family, but after that I'll put it away", he said of his settlement award.

As for the federal DEA, national detention standards have been introduced, resulting from Mr. Chong's ordeal which will include daily inspections and cameras in cells. Really, it's hard to believe that those rudimentary precautions were not already in place.

 "It sounded like it was an accident -- a really, really bad, horrible accident", said the forgiving Daniel Chong.