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A young person from the Land Down Under has faced legal proceedings after allegedly vandalizing a sizable blue sculpture of a mythical creature by affixing googly eyes to it.

Amelia Vanderhorst, aged 19, appeared via phone at the local court in South Australia on that day, facing with a single charge of property damage.

In a statement at the time of the September incident, the local council said that surveillance video captured a person placing artificial eyes on the sculpture, which residents have nicknamed the “Cast in Blue”.

Ms Vanderhorst did not enter a plea and informed the judge she was ill, as reported by news outlets, with the magistrate advising her to find a legal representative before her next court date in December.

A day after the reported event, the city leader said that repairs to the popular public artwork would be expensive as the adhesive eyes were impossible to be removed without harming the sculpture.

“This wilful damage to a valued public artwork is inappropriate and disrespectful,” City of Mount Gambier mayor remarked in mid-September. “It is not harmless fun, it is pricey - it is also frustrating to those members of our community who have embraced the Blue Blob.”

She added the council would pursue the “substantial” repair costs from those accountable for the vandalism.

At the time the artwork was initially suggested, it drew varied responses from the local community due to its price tag and appearance.

Costing 136,000 Australian dollars (eighty-nine thousand US dollars; sixty-eight thousand pounds), the artwork represents a legendary giant animal, with the creators inspired by an ancient marsupial ant-eater discovered in nearby caverns that was “huge, slow-moving, and intriguing”.