Incarceration of Daniel Chong

For the animator, see Daniel Chong.

The incarceration of Daniel Chong was an incident in April 2012 in San Diego, California, when agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) left a detained student locked in a holding room for five days. The cell contained no food, water or bathroom facilities.[1] When he was found, he had to be hospitalized for several days for a variety of medical problems. The incident touched off a national furor, resulting in several investigations. The incident has been described as a "Kafkaesque nightmare,"[2] a "debacle," and "one of the worst cases of its kind."[3]

Chong subsequently sued the DEA; the government settled the suit for $4.1 million.[4]

  1. ^ "Student's ordeal: How was Daniel Chong lost in DEA detention?", MSNBC, May 4, 2012
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Watson, Julie, and Freking, Kevin, "Federal lawmaker: DEA debacle suggests breakdown" Archived 2012-05-03 at the Wayback Machine, San Francisco Chronicle, May 3, 2012
  4. ^ Stan Wilson, Daniel Chong, forgotten in DEA cell, settles suit for $4.1 million Archived 2018-12-29 at the Wayback Machine, CNN (July 30, 2013).