Johannesburg - Prisoners Oscar Pistorius and Radovan Krejcir are not receiving “royal treatment” in prison, correctional services (DCS) said on Wednesday.
“The DCS wish to state that reports by the Daily Sun that the two inmates are 'treated like royalty' are incorrect and misleading. They are both not receiving special treatment,” the department's Gauteng division said in a statement.
It was reacting to a report in the Daily Sun, and a video, showing the two playing soccer in a courtyard in the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria.
The Correctional Services Act made provision for both sentenced and remand detainees to have one hour exercise daily.
“Sentenced offenders may wear their sporting gear during the exercise periods,” the department said.
On Wednesday, the Daily Sun reported that Pistorius and Krejcir wore civilian clothes while taking shots at goal. The newspaper reported that their “special treatment” had angered other prisoners who said they were on a holiday camp.
The Daily Sun posted a video of Pistorius and Krejcir kicking the ball to each other.
Pistorius and Krejcir are in cells in the same section of the prison.
In September, Pistorius was convicted of culpable homicide for shooting dead his model and law-graduate girlfriend Steenkamp. He fired four shots through the locked door of the toilet in his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day 2013, apparently thinking she was an intruder. He was jailed for five years.
Czech fugitive Krejcir is on trial for attempted murder. In February police said he was involved in a raft of crimes and substantial evidence has been collected against him.
These allegedly include over 20 murders, 15 cases involving drug trafficking, 30 house and business robberies, 15 of fraud, and many hijacking cases.
The DCS said the report was misleading and appealed to the media to refrain from “unethical means” of accessing information.
“The DCS is aware that there are officials providing misleading information to the media on inmate Pistorius and Krejcir,” the department said.
Sapa