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A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly defacing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the recent event, the local council explained that CCTV footage captured a individual putting artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was unwell, according to media sources, with the magistrate recommending her to secure a lawyer before her next court date in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the city leader said that restoration to the much-loved public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those members of our community who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the council would pursue the “significant” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

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

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