After working as a slave for more than three years on a fishing boat, Sun Zhenglong jumped into the Pacific and swam six hours to freedom.

The 38-year-old with a full beard cried in his wife's arms after she hurried to a hospital in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province.

"I was desperate when I was trapped on the boat," Sun said. "I wanted to reunite with my wife and my son every single day."

Sun's ordeal began in October 2010, when he was working on a fishing boat in Weihai, Shandong province. One night, when he stepped out of the cabin to check the weather, he slipped on the deck and fell into the ocean.

Fishermen on another fishing boat saved Sun, who managed to survive by holding onto a floating board, several hours later.

However, when Sun asked to leave the boat two days later, the fishermen refused, insisting that he work three years for free to repay their kindness.

"To prevent my escape, they locked me in the cabin when the boat docked sometimes more than 10 days during holidays," said Sun. "They didn't even let me make a phone call to my family. I had lost track of time and just worked all day long."

Sun finally decided to jump into the ocean while nobody was looking to flee from the fishermen when the boat was sailing near the city of Lianyungang on Sunday night.

"I dropped a white plastic float into the ocean that I could hold onto when I became too tired from swimming for a long time," Sun said. "I kept swimming toward the light on shore. I told myself I had to get there."

Six hours later, Sun lay on the beach, totally exhausted and unable to call for help. Local police found him and sent him to the hospital, and doctors there called his wife, whose cellphone number he remembered clearly.

"Even in my dreams, I dared not imagine that I could see my husband again," said Ding Zhaoling, who came from Linyi, Shandong province, with some of Sun's relatives. "People who worked with him in Weihai said there was no chance that he would survive."

Ding had even applied to cancel Sun's hukou, or permanent residency permit.

"Sun can restore the hukou and regain a normal life by applying to the public security bureau and the court of his hometown," said Yu Fangqiang, a lawyer with a Nanjing-based anti-discrimination NGO.

"The fishermen cannot ask Sun to repay them for saving him," Yu said. "They could've asked for a reasonable reward for pulling him out of the water, but the captain of the boat and the crew committed illegal detention and should all be punished according to law."

Police in Lianyungang are investigating.

"I'll never walk out of my hometown again," said Sun. "I'll lead a normal life together with my wife and my 13-year-old son."

Contact the writers at cangwei@chinadaily.com.cn and songwenwei@chinadaily.com.cn