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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, aged 19, participated remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with one count of property damage.

In a statement at the moment of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video showed a individual putting fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

A day after the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be costly as the adhesive eyes could not be detached without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

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

When the artwork was initially suggested, it drew mixed reactions from the area residents due to its cost and design.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers inspired by an prehistoric anteater-like marsupial found in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.