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A teenager from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly defacing a large blue sculpture of a legendary being by affixing plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared via phone at the local court in the state of South Australia on that day, charged with a single charge of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities explained that CCTV footage captured a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, 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 restoration to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without damaging the art piece.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is unacceptable and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is costly - it is also disappointing to those people of our society who have embraced Cast in Blue.”

She said the council would pursue the “substantial” restoration expenses from those responsible for the damage.

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

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