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A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of 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 said that CCTV footage captured a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which residents have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was ill, according to news outlets, with the magistrate recommending her to find a lawyer before her upcoming hearing in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the city leader stated that repairs to the popular community sculpture would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without damaging the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She said the council would pursue the “significant” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

When the sculpture was first proposed, it drew mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the sculpture represents a mythical megafauna, with the sculpture’s designers influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.