A jobless worker was charged on Wednesday in a district court for stealing nearly two litres of cough syrup from the Cecilia Family Clinic & Surgery at Tampines Street 43.

Lim Chee Wei, 32, is said to have broken into the premises at about 3am on Jan 15 through a toilet window at the rear of the clinic and stolen a half-filled 3.8 litre bottle and a 500ml bottle containing Dhasedyl cough syrup.

He was arrested by officers from Tampines Neighbourhood Police Centre. He has been remanded till his next court appearance on Jan 23 for further investigations.

The clinic had suffered a spate of thefts since October 2012 and items stolen also included flu tablets and the erectile dysfunction drug, Viagra. Offenders convicted of housebreaking by night to commit theft will be jailed between two and 14 years.