A Spanish artist in Taiwan is in the soup after he attempted to scrub the doors of a centuries-old temple, in a supposed act of civic-mindedness, but ended up defacing the entrance to the religious site.

The artist, identified by the local media as a 53-year-old surnamed Fang, was arrested by Taipei police on Monday after surveillance cameras captured him “cleaning” the doors of Cixian Temple in the popular Shilin Night Market.

In images posted on social media, a man dressed casually in T-shirt and shorts, and with a pail by his feet, can be seen scrubbing the entrance to the temple with some fabric.

A photo of the entrance shared by the temple on social media showed the middle portion, depicting a gatekeeper deity, partially smeared and discoloured.

Upon nabbing Fang and his “cleaning materials”, including some grease dissolvers, lacquer thinners and pine fragrances, the police found that he was intoxicated and detained him for offences against the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act.

If found guilty of destroying parts of a historical site or its subsidiary facilities, he faces a fine of up to NT$20 million (S$850,000) and a jail term of up to five years.

Local police said they received a report at around 2am on Monday that the temple doors were being vandalised.

The chief of Taipei’s Wenlin police station said Fang told investigators he thought the doors to Cixian Temple had appeared to be in poor condition, and decided to clean it with some equipment, without knowing it was a city-designated historical site.

The police said Fang worked in the fine arts sector and that he had experience working with other temples in Taiwan for roof restoration and repainting works.

They added that he had been drinking at his residence early on Monday morning before visiting the temple.

Cixian Temple has been located at its current site since 1864, serving as a place of worship dedicated to the Chinese sea goddess Mazu. It is designated by Taipei as an official Municipal Heritage Site.

According to its official site, the portraits of the deities on the temple’s doors were painted in 1960 by Tainan artist Chen Yu-feng.

Taipei’s bureau for cultural affairs said on Monday that the temple has been tasked with coming up with an emergency repair plan, including proposals for the craftsmen and materials required, within a month.

A temple spokesman expressed “heartfelt pain and zero tolerance” towards the disfiguration.

“It is not easy to preserve historical and cultural artefacts, with the purpose of leaving it for future generations. How dare you deliberately destroy them!” wrote the spokesman on Facebook on Monday.