Pretoria - A report that Oscar Pistorius threw a “wobbly” when he heard that the State's application for leave to appeal his conviction was successful, is untrue, his lawyer said on Friday.
“The story as published by The Times is simply untrue. This type of reporting is irresponsible and misleads the public,” Brian Webber said in a statement.
Webber was responding to a report by The Times newspaper on Thursday that said Pistorius was “pissed off” and “lost it” at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison where he is incarcerated.
The Times quoted an inmate saying Pistorius was listening to the ruling on radio.
“He got up and stomped. He went straight to the gym. He started lifting weights like it was going out of fashion. He is pissed off,” the prisoner was quoted as saying.
“Who wouldn't be? He was definitely expecting to be out by August.”
The prisoner reportedly said Pistorius could barely console himself over the fact that he would be in prison over Christmas and New Year.
However, Webber said the story, published on the front page on Thursday, was not only sensationalist but also devoid of truth.
“The story, relating to Oscar's reaction... after learning that his acquittal for murder will be appealed is not only sensationalist but also devoid of any truth,” Webber said.
“I personally went to see Oscar straight after Judge (Thokozile) Masipa gave her ruling and discussed it at length with Oscar at approximately 10h45. This was the first time Oscar received any information on what had transpired in court.”
On Wednesday, Masipa ruled in the High Court in Pretoria that the State was granted leave to appeal Pistorius's culpable homicide conviction for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, but not his five-year jail term.
She refused the State's application to appeal Pistorius's being found not guilty on the charge of illegal possession of ammunition.
Pistorius would continue serving his current sentence in the meanwhile.
In September, Pistorius was acquitted of murder but 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 last year, apparently thinking she was an intruder.
Sapa