The City Press reported today that the former athlete was rushed to the Kalafong Hospital to receive treatment to wounds on his wrists.
Advertisement
The Paralympic gold medallist’s brother Carl posted on Twitter saying he had been to visit the 29-year-old this morning.
He declined to provide additional details, citing privacy concerns.
Mr Nxumalo confirmed Pistorius was returned to his prison cell on Saturday and an investigation was underway.
South African prosecutors had said they will appeal against the the athlete’s six-year jail term, which they called “shockingly lenient”.
“He had bad cuts on his wrists and the doctors kept wrapping bandages around them”, one guard said.
During Pistorius’ sentencing hearing in June, a psychologist testified for the defense that the athlete was a “broken” man whose mental state had deteriorated over the last two years, and that he should be hospitalized and not jailed.
Before his sentencing on July 6, Pistorius told British broadcaster ITV that his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, would have wanted him to go free and dedicate his life to charity, not waste it behind bars.
Pistorius told prison staff he’d been injured while falling out of bed, according to another spokesman for the corrections department, Singabakho Nxumalo.
Pistorius has since been returned to the prison facility.
Pistorius, who pleaded not guilty at his trial in 2014, has always denied killing Steenkamp in a rage, saying he was trying to protect her.
Advertisement
Model Reeva was repeatedly shot through a bathroom door in Pistorius’ flat on Valentine’s Day. He was not given the mandatory minimum 15-year-sentence for dolus eventualis, as Judge Thokozile Masipa felt there were numerous factors in mitigation of sentence. However, prosecutors argued that Pistorius shot Steenkamp during an argument. [Photo by Charlie Shoemaker/Getty Images] People thought this as an insult to the murder of the South African girl and forced the court to further extend his jail time.
