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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in the state of South Australia on Tuesday, facing with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a person placing fake eyes on the artwork, which locals have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused made no plea and told the judge she was unwell, as reported by media sources, with the judge recommending her to secure a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

The following day the reported event, the local mayor said that restoration to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a cherished community art is unacceptable and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those people of our community who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

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

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it received mixed reactions from the local community due to its price tag and design.

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