A fugitive who went on the run 17 years ago after killing someone "because of a dream" has been apprehended.

Zhang Hualin, from Pengzhou in Sichuan province, woke from a nap on Aug 22, 1992, after having dreamed that he was running away from someone who wanted to harm him.

He then became aware that the son of his divorced girlfriend, Zheng Bin, was standing over him and demanding that he get out of the room. The situation quickly developed into a fight.

Fueled by the fear of his dream, Zhang got a knife from the kitchen and stabbed Zheng to death.

To escape punishment, he fled to the city of Linzhou in Central China's Henan province and worked as a litter collector.

"If it were not for my dream, I might not have been so impulsive," the killer told police during his confession.

(Chengdu Commercial Daily)