Pistorius' charity work downplayed
AAP
October 14, 2014, 7:52 pm
A South African prison official has recommended that Paralympian Oscar Pistorius clean a museum. EPA
Oscar Pistorius only used charitable work as a marketing tool, the prosecution says as the sentencing hearing of the South African athlete enters its second day.
Prosecutor Gerrie Nel downplayed arguments on Tuesday by Pistorius' manager Peet Van Zyl that the double-amputee Olympic sprinter had engaged in volunteer work and donated funds to help disabled people.
Getting involved in charity "is merely an advancement of your career," Nel told Van Zyl. "If you see it that way," the manager answered.
Pistorius' defence is trying to depict him as a generous man of good character in an attempt to allow him to avoid a prison sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp on February 14, 2013.
The 27-year-old athlete fired at the 29-year-old model through the bathroom door in his Pretoria home.
Judge Thokozile Masipa accepted his version that he took her for a burglar and found him guilty of manslaughter on September 12.
The sentencing hearing is expected to conclude this week. Masipa then has a wide discretion in choosing the sentence, which could range from a fine to 15 years in prison.
Pistorius' therapist told the court on Monday that he had felt deep and genuine remorse for killing Steenkamp and had been left "a broken man" by his ordeal.
A representative of South Africa's Correctional Services Department recommended that Pistorius be punished with house arrest and community service.
Nel called the suggestion a "shockingly inappropriate" punishment.
The judge said in her September decision that Pistorius did not mean to kill anyone, but acted negligently and unreasonably, knowing there was someone in the toilet with little room for manoeuvre when he fired the shots.
The verdict sparked an outcry, with many saying Pistorius intended to kill and should have been found guilty of murder.
The 41-day trial of Pistorius - the first double-amputee to compete against able-bodied sprinters in the 2012 London Olympics - was watched closely around the world.
