WUHAN, March 18 -- A man in central China's Hubei Province has confessed to deliberately setting fire to a hospital months after his failed theft attempt at the institution, local police said Tuesday.

The suspect, surnamed Li, admitted that he set fire to an electric scooter in front of an inpatient building at the No. 2 Hospital in Huangshi City at around 4 a.m. Sunday, the city's public security bureau said in a statement.

The fire quickly spread to the inpatient building and killed a total of four people, including three patients and another person who is believed to have been a medical worker.

A police investigation showed that the 27-year-old attempted theft at the hospital in October of last year and set the fire to vent his anger.