en 
"So far, a foreign citizen has been identified as a suspect, who has already committed acts of the same similar nature in other places and who, in the meantime, has been absent from the national territory", said the PSP in a statement.
The investigation into the act of vandalism against the Padrão dos Descobrimentos (Monument of Discoveries) is being investigated by the PJ, who received a report of the occurrence on the morning of 9 August and proceeded with the “necessary investigative and expert steps through the Directorate of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and the Laboratory of the Scientific Police, for the collection of evidence and for the discovery of the authorship of the illicit act”.
According to the PJ, "the investigation continues with the adoption of procedural measures appropriate to the situation."
On 9 August, the Lisbon City Council published a press release on their website stating that the Padrão dos Descobrimentos, a monument located in the Lisbon parish of Belém, had been vandalised on Sunday and that the cleaning of the monument had begun in the afternoon “after the conclusion of investigations at the scene by the Judiciary Police”.
According to the municipality, which took over the cleaning of the some 20 metres of graffiti along the monument “all acts of vandalism against the collective heritage of the city are inadmissible”.
The Padrão dos Descobrimentos, in Lisbon, was vandalised on Sunday with graffiti on one of the sides of the monument, covering a length of about 20 meters and written in English, the Public Security Police (PSP) told Lusa.
The message reads, in English, “Blindly sailing for monney [sic], humanity is drowning in a scarllet [sic] sea lia [sic]”.
The occurrence was registered by the PSP around 11:30 am on Sunday, and the incident was communicated to the Municipality of Lisbon, who oversees the monument.
Designed by architect Cottinelli Telmo, the Padrão dos Descobrimentos was built for the Exhibition of the Portuguese World, in 1940, but was remade in reinforced concrete and rose stone from Leiria, between 1958 and 1960, having been inaugurated in January of that same year, during the fifth centenary of the death of Infante Dom Henrique.
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This monument is a treasure. Regardless of what one thinks of the historical situation, such cowardly act is an insult to the Portuguese territory and should be punished accordingly.
By G Williams from USA on 10 Aug 2021, 14:47
Give them a hefty fine and have them spend 150 hours physically cleaning up other graffiti as punishment
By Dre from Lisbon on 10 Aug 2021, 16:30
hmm, makes me thinking...
If "collective heritage of the city" if colonization and slave trade, the city should not be proud of if, but alter it's position on it's history, and make it visible by altering the statue too.
A good start would have been to leave the graffiti, anyway, it's a good piece of art.
By Christoph from Lisbon on 10 Aug 2021, 17:57
In some countries graffiti is considered a crime against the environment (Singapore) that carries heavy fines, in Portugal it's considered art, you figure.
By Joao Martins from Algarve on 10 Aug 2021, 19:07
I read that some consider art as garbage. idiots are always there.
By Danilo from Other on 10 Aug 2021, 22:32
Christoph, maybe you shouldn't live in Portugal mate. If you're going to defend the defacing of heritage of any form by tourists maybe you should move home before you get written up by the police on Portugal.
By RR from UK on 11 Aug 2021, 08:05
Utterly disgusting that you feel the need to mention the fact it was a foreigner! In this time of division, surely your role is to unite, not divide? Although, your approach for sensationalism echoes whispers of state funding somewhere along the line. Bravo Portugal news, let's continue to divide and conquer!
By Stephen from Algarve on 11 Aug 2021, 08:34
Replay to @RR
hmm, maybe I should skip it, but I have heard it way to often. "If you don't like it, leave Portugal." - most stupid non-argument that could be made. Maybe better help changing Portugal to the better, transitioning it from a 3rd world country to modern, liberal and tolerant civilization.
By Christoph from Lisbon on 11 Aug 2021, 09:49
Name and shame and make the person responsible clean the monument. Why do we always defend the criminals!
By Divienne Conyngham from Algarve on 11 Aug 2021, 10:41
To the comment from Stephen posted at 9:34, I just want to say that by posting the word foreigner, "The Portugal News "is not dividing or enflaming things. Let me remind you that the same thing happens at the BBC news, ITV, news and so many other media in the United Kingdom. The comment you are reading is coming from someone who was a foreigner in the United Kingdom for 14 years, who suffered discrimination many times whilst working for the NHS. Who understood the difference between treating British patients and foreign patients. The respect from foreigners was always considerably higher. I put an end to my torture by returning home, that is Portugal. As you may know it was because of the foreigners that BREXIT happened. So having said all this, the word foreigner unfortunately has to be mentioned. Do not be upset, or frustrated. This is not about you, because you are a foreigner if you are in Portugal. This is about the world we are living in. Best wishes.
By Nuno from Other on 11 Aug 2021, 15:46
I find the use of the term "foreign citizen " interesting. When can a foreign born resident of Portugal ever be just Portuguese? By use of this wording it appears never.
just Portuguese PPortuguesenationalnationperson
By R from Lisbon on 12 Aug 2021, 08:10
Christoph, I wasn't suggesting if you don't love it leave it. I was suggesting that if you are inclined to vandalise anyone's property you should live somewhere where that is legal. Perhaps you don't speak English very well and don't understand me. As for a third world country, I would suggest you travel the world a little to open your eyes. And with regards to liberalism perhaps you should realise that conflating vandalism with liberalism will do little to change a country for the better. Portugal could definitely do with improvements, vandalism not being one.
By RR from UK on 12 Aug 2021, 20:05
All the comments are so indicative of an irredeemably disparate populous with a tragically limited scope for reasonable debate on such matters.
Shouldn’t we at least firstly consider what constitutes vandalism in relation to what constitutes a discovery, much in the same way that we are to reconsider what is criminal both in the context of crimes committed today and how those crimes might be reactions and responses to crimes committed in the past that are rarely if ever brought up for public discourse specifically in this country where matters of historical perspective, semantic accuracy of the terminologies used in reference to these past events and the conflicting notions of heritage disinheritance/Those who had lost and those who had gained?
Beguiling but somehow also entirely expected of us, I cautiously wonder what it would take four people to exercise some Curiosity to reason with the actions and behaviours of others rather than outrightly judge them The filters of your own.
It’s a will to reason and reason as an art form that is not especially reflected in our educational syllabus and therefore not really seen so readily in our practice of society, Just a lot of this divisive, punitive reactionism.
Besides, it isn’t the ugly sculpture/monument that anyone cares about… It’s the sentiment behind the monument itself what it is monumentalising still, not to mention the morals of this nation state that are routinely flouted, brought into question, ignored, redefined whenever it suits personal convenience… Are you exempt or morally righteous?
By Yarios pangea from UK on 13 Aug 2021, 14:36
Very disrespectful with the Country. Penalty and cleaning. It is unacceptable to vandalize public or private property. Shame! People want “ to save the world “; start respecting others.
By Margarida from Other on 04 Oct 2021, 13:03
Christoph: I grew up with that monument & it reminds me of sailing out to sea. It is also an impressive style 1930s monument & part of our heritage. No one is saying they are "proud" of colonialism (or that it was erected in the time of Salazar which there appears to be much ignorance in these comments). It will mean different things to different people. The graffiti isnt a "good piece of art" it was to deface someone else's piece of art, a historic monument, as an aggressive act - BY A TOURIST - pointlessly conveying something we already know about. It was really quite pathetic and cowardly. Hhasnt Portugal already suffered enough at the hands of tourists and colonial style British who take advantage? Stephen - please have some respect for the ethnic population, of Portuguese descent. And Christoph - changing Portugal for the better doesnt mean tolerating abuse & vandalism by psychopathic criminal tourists who go out of their way to target any country, in this case a vulnerable country, using colonialism
as an excuse. I've seen similar aggressive intrusions into traditional villages because they're eay prey - cowardly abuse is all it is. R of Lisbon: "Portuguese is an ethnic & national identity, show some respect. Portugal has had enough of being exploited by foreigners who bring their narcissistic exploitative values with them to subject the locals to....(the Portuguese also have nothing to be proud of by selling off their ancestral homes to foreigners without any forethought to the cultural damage as seen in the social cleansing if Lisbon & Sintra). Yarious: this isn't a conceptual matter for the Portuguese, whom you culturally dismiss arrogantly, that's your "filter" presumably. Whose educational syllabus ?
By Maria from Lisbon on 31 Mar 2022, 20:51
Portugal doesn’t need your neo-liberal lecture scrawled over a glorious monument celebrating accomplished men of the past. The foreign vandal should be extradited and made to clean it himself. Must be nice to go hopping around Europe playing with crayons, only to escape back to your “enlightened” multi-cultural hellscape.
By Otavio from USA on 13 Sep 2022, 03:10
Always those Unnameables, wouldn’t have as much a problem if you could have the complete freedom of speech to speak the Truth instead of these Evil Tyrannical worthless Politicians and Governments that do nothing but Enslave the Good and Innocent Whites in their own lands sending their government lackeys to beat them into submission and conformity, subjugating the free will of the individual to think for themselves, speak for themselves and go their own path without being coerced into their many manipulative Agendas and Programs.
By Sean from Algarve on 12 May 2024, 21:11