Fury in Rio after vandals spray Christ statue

VANDALS have covered Rio de Janeiro's towering Christ the Redeemer statue with spray-painted graffiti, marring the world-famous monument in an act Rio's mayor called a "crime against the nation".

The vandals covered the head, arms and chest of the 130ft statue, which looks out over Rio's dramatic vista of beaches and mountains, using scaffolding that had been erected to carry out maintenance work.

"Those criminals will pay for what they've done. They will go to jail," Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, said. "Rio de Janeiro and Brazil do not deserve this."

Phrases scrawled on to the statue included: "When the cat's away, the rats will play," as well as apparent references to Rio residents who were killed or who disappeared in recent crimes.

The soapstone statue, which was completed in 1931, sits atop the 2,300-foot Corcovado mountain.