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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a large art piece of a legendary being by applying plastic eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, appeared remotely at Mount Gambier Magistrates Court in South Australia on that day, facing with one count of property damage.

Officials commented at the time of the September incident, the municipal authorities said that CCTV footage captured a individual placing fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused did not enter a plea and told the judge she was unwell, according to news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

The following day the alleged incident, the local mayor said that repairs to the much-loved community sculpture would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.

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

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

At the time the sculpture was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the area residents due to its cost and appearance.

Costing A$136,000 (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork depicts a mythical megafauna, with the creators influenced by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in local caves that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.