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A young person from Australia has appeared in court after reportedly vandalizing a large art piece of a mythical creature by applying googly eyes to it.

The 19-year-old, 19 years old, participated via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, charged with one count of damaging property.

Officials commented at the time of the recent event, the local council said that CCTV footage showed a individual putting fake eyes on the sculpture, which locals have dubbed the “Cast in Blue”.

The accused did not enter a plea and informed the court she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the judge advising her to find a lawyer 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 popular public artwork would be costly as the stickers were impossible to be detached without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” Mayor Lynette Martin remarked in September. “It is not innocent amusement, it is costly - it is also frustrating to those members of our society who have welcomed Cast in Blue.”

She added the local government would seek the “significant” repair costs 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 price tag and design.

Priced at 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; £68,000), the artwork depicts a legendary giant animal, with the creators influenced by an prehistoric marsupial ant-eater found in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.