Pretoria - Offenders were taken to outside hospitals for check-ups regularly and on a daily basis, and this was no different for Oscar Pistorius.
This is according to Department of Correctional Services spokesperson Singabakho Nxumalo, after a social media storm erupted over news that the Paralympian apparently fell ill and was taken to Kalafong Hospital in Pretoria on Thursday morning.
Soon after the news broke that he had been taken from the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre to the hospital, there was speculation that he had suffered a heart attack.
Nxumalo, however, told Independent Media that the reports were exaggerated.
He said: “There are medical conditions that hospitals within our facilities cannot attend to, hence we often use hospitals. But we expect offender Pistorius to return to the correctional centre this afternoon.”
This time last year, Pistorius sustained injuries on his wrists while in jail and was taken to the same hospital. At the time, Nxumalo said the offender had injured himself after falling from the bed. Speculation was rife that he had tried to commit suicide.
Pistorius was sentenced to six years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp. He was convicted of murder for fatally shooting Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day, 2013, believing she was an intruder.