RIO DE JANEIRO, April 17 (UPI) -- Vandals spray-painted graffiti on Rio de Janiero's Christ The Redeemer statue Friday, taking advantage of scaffolding erected for maintenance work.
In the first instance of vandalism at the iconic statue since it opened in 1931, vandals used black spray paint to cover the face of Christ The Redeemer with messages about Rio residents who were killed or had disappeared recently, Sky News reported.
"When the cat's away, the rats will play," was another message written on the statue, which has been inaccessible to the public because of recent mudslides.
Mayor Eduardo Paes said, "Those criminals will pay for what they've done. They will go to jail. Rio de Janeiro and Brazil do not deserve this."
Maintenance workers quickly removed the graffiti.
