Pistorius starts community service

Pretoria, Nov 14: South African para-athlete Oscar Pistorius has begun his community service, a month after he was released from jail.

The Paralympian was granted parole after serving one year of his five-year sentence for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013. He must perform community service under the terms of his release, BBC reported on Saturday.

In his first public appearance since then, he reported to a police station in Pretoria on Saturday wearing sunglasses and carrying a backpack. He is serving the rest of his sentence under house arrest at his uncle's home in the city.

Pistorius, 28, was found guilty of culpable homicide, or manslaughter, over the death of his 29-year-old girlfriend. He told his trial last year that he had shot her through a bathroom door because he had mistaken her for an intruder.

The prosecution is appealing against the verdict, saying Pistorius should have been convicted of murder.

The dos and don'ts for Pistorius' house arrest are no access to firearms, no taking of drugs or alcohol, and can be randomly tested by officials, continue with psychotherapy sessions, no going out at night, can work; will not be electronically tagged and his lawyers say track and field training is part of work, but this is still unclear. IANS