Pistorius jail sentence increased to 13 years and 5 months

The prosecutors had argued that the six-year term for murdering Reeva Steenkamp was too short.

Oscar Pistorius's jail term has been increased.

Oscar Pistorius’ prison sentence has been increased to 13 years and five months by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal.

The court on Friday upheld an appeal by prosecutors, who challenged Pistorius’ original six-year jail sentence saying it was too lenient for his conviction of murder in the shooting of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in 2013.

Pistorius has served just over a year of that six-year sentence.

Pistorius shot Steenkamp in the pre-dawn hours of Valentine’s Day 2013. He was initially convicted of manslaughter but also had that conviction overturned and replaced with a murder conviction by the Supreme Court.

"One of the essential ingredients of a balanced sentence is that it must reflect the seriousness of the offence," Andrea Johnson, of the National Prosecution Authority, told the court.

The Paralympic athlete shot dead Reeva Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine's Day in 2013 when he fired four times through the door of his bedroom toilet.

He pleaded not guilty at his trial in 2014 and has always denied that he killed Steenkamp in a rage, saying he mistook her for a burglar.