Payout For Man Forgotten in Cell For Four Days

A California university student who was left in a holding cell for four days without food or water will receive $4.1m (£2.6m) from the US government.

Daniel Chong said he drank his own urine to stay alive and tried to write a farewell message to his mother with his own blood while he was detained by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in April last year.

He was taken into custody at DEA offices with eight others following a drug raid at a friend’s house in San Diego.

Officers said they found 18,000 ecstasy pills, other drugs and weapons in the operation.

Following his incarceration, officers found Mr Chong severely dehydrated and covered in his own faeces.

Mr Chong said he began to hallucinate on the third day - saying he saw little Japanese-style cartoon characters that told him to dig into the walls to find water.

He also bit into his glasses to break them so he could use a shard of glass to carve "sorry mom" onto his arm.

Mr Chong - who was 23 years old at the time - was treated in hospital for five days for dehydration, kidney failure, cramps and a perforated oesophagus. He lost 15 pounds.

The DEA issued a rare public apology at the time.

Mr Chong’s attorney Eugene Iredale said his client had agreed to settle.

He said no one has yet been disciplined for the incident and no criminal charges will be filed.

Mr Iredale says the Justice Department's inspector general is investigating what caused Mr Chong's near-death experience, but that he still has no answers.

The DEA had no policy on the treatment of detainees at the time, but now includes cameras in cells and daily inspections.

His attorney filed a $20m claim against the federal government last year.