WUHAN - A man suspected of causing an explosion near a State-owned bank in Central China this month was arrested on Friday, local police said.

According to Wuhan police, Wang Haijian, the 24-year-old suspect, confessed that his motive for the explosion, which left two people dead and 15 injured, was to rob a cash truck, police said.

Wang Haijian, a suspect in an explosion outside a bank branch on Dec 1, is being questioned at a local police sub-bureau in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province. The explosion left two dead. Pan Feng / for China Daily

The blast occurred outside a branch of China Construction Bank about 5:30 pm on Dec 1 in the Hongshan district of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province.

Lang Ping, a spokesman for the Wuhan public security bureau, said Wang was arrested in Wuhan General Hospital of Guangzhou Military Command when he was sleeping in the waiting room of the hospital.

"Wuhan is cold now, and he did not take a lot of personal belongings when he fled, so we concluded he might hide in a warm place," Lang said.

Wang was reported by hospital staff to be at the site at 10 am.

Two hours later, he was arrested.

Feng Xuebin, deputy director of the criminal investigation department of the Wuhan public security bureau, said police had conducted a rigorous investigation after the blast.

On Dec 4, they announced a reward for clues on their micro blog, which has attracted much attention.

Police later identified Wang, a native of Zaoyang in Hubei, as the suspect, saying he had been caught on surveillance cameras.

Wang, an air conditioner repairman working in Wuhan, lived in a village in the city's Donghu New Technology Development Zone before the explosion. But the police were unable to find him.

They publicized his photo and offered a 100,000 yuan ($15,870) reward for information that led to his arrest.

An initial police investigation found that the explosion was triggered by an unidentified object outside a nearby drugstore.

After preliminary examination, police said, Wang admitted making home-made explosive devices and attempting to rob an armored car by detonating a bomb.

The case is still under investigation

Xinhua contributed to this story.

Wang Haijian, a suspect in an explosion outside a bank branch on Dec 1, is being under arrest by police in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province. Pan Feng / for China Daily?