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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of damaging property.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage showed a individual putting artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by media sources, with the judge recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in December.

A day after the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin said in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

She said the local government would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars ($89,000; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater found in local caves that was “massive, lumbering and fascinating”.