Every year, the Finnish capital spends approximately 650,000 euros (about $710,000) to remove illegal graffiti throughout the city.

So, it really doesn't help when one of their own deputy mayors is part of the problem.

Paavo Arhinmäki, 46, is one of four deputy mayors of Finland's capital city Helsinki, and he just got caught red-handed spray-painting graffiti in a railway tunnel last weekend.

According to Arhinmäki's Facebook post/apology, he's been a graffiti enthusiast since he was a kid and has been spray-painting with childhood friends for 15 years since the city established legal graffiti walls. Arhinmäki admitted the wall he got busted painting was not one of those legal ones...

After a couple of hours of painting we were done. We cleaned up the empty paint cans and were about to take pictures... While at the same time, guards appeared on the bridge, who shouted that it's not worth trying to escape. What would we middle-aged parents even try to run to when the car was parked next to us.

The guards caught us properly. We were talking to them about this while we were waiting for the police to show up to record our information...

It was a completely thoughtless thing. And it was stupid to paint there when there are allowed walls too. I'm so sorry for this stupid foolishness of mine. I'm asking for forgiveness.

He and his friends got caught red-handed, and I gotta give them props for not running away. Arhinmäki and his gang are middle-aged, and he is the deputy mayor, after all...

According to Finnish public broadcasting YLE, the Transport Infrastructure Agency told them that Arhinmäki's graffiti cost the city around 3,500 euros ($3,830) to clean up.

To make matters worse, police are investigating the vandalism because it interfered with rail traffic, which had to be temporarily halted because of the incident.

Helsinki has about 650,000 residents, and this incident has gained much attention. Some citizens are in an uproar, while others are showing support.

It isn't clear if Arhinmäki will face legal charges, but it is still possible. Some are calling for him to pay for the clean-up, and others are even calling for him to resign.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about this.

As a city representative, should you be a bit more careful where you spray paint?

Yeah, you probably should.

But I am a sucker for a struggling artist story!

Can I really be mad at him for wanting to add color and life to an ugly old concrete wall?

Finnish street art experts even compared his work to stuff seen in New York City in the '70s. Not too shabby!

But then again, it was illegal and temporarily stopped the train. So, that's not cool.

What do you think?

Should he be charged? Fined? Forced to resign?