US inmate Forgotten US inmate drank urine to stay alive

Without food, water or access to a lavatory, Daniel Chong began hallucinating on the third day.

He said he saw little Japanese-style cartoon characters that told him to dig into the walls to find water so he tore apart the plastic lining on the walls.

"I ripped the walls and waited for the room to flood for some reason," the 23-year-old University of California, San Diego, student, told the Associated Press three days after he left the hospital where he was treated for dehydration and kidney failure. "I can't explain my hallucinations too well because none of them make sense."

Later he added, "I felt like I was completely losing my mind."

Four days later, agents opened the door on a fluke and found him covered in his own faeces, Mr Chong said.