SANTIAGO, Chile - A Finnish tourist who chipped an earlobe off an ancient Moai on Easter Island is being allowed to go home after paying a US$17,000 fine and agreeing not to return for three years, police said Tuesday.

Marko Kulju, 26, deposited the money into a bank account overseen by the court that handled his case, the Easter Island prosecutors office said in a statement.

At prosecutors request, Kulju also wrote a public apology for damaging the figure, one of 400 statues carved out of volcanic rock between 400 and 1,000 years ago to represent deceased ancestors. The statues are protected by Chilean law.