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A young person from Australia has faced legal proceedings after reportedly defacing a sizable art piece of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

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

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the municipal authorities said that surveillance video showed a individual placing artificial eyes on the artwork, which residents have nicknamed the “Blue Blob”.

The accused made no plea and informed the judge she was unwell, as reported by news outlets, with the judge recommending her to find a legal representative before her upcoming hearing in the final month of the year.

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 detached without damaging the art piece.

“This intentional vandalism to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor said in mid-September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those people of our society who have welcomed the Blue Blob.”

She added the council would seek the “significant” restoration expenses from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the sculpture was first proposed, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its cost and appearance.

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