'Oscar Pistorius' six year jail term for killing girlfriend is 'shockingly low'

South African prosecutors on Friday will argue for Oscar Pistorius to be given a longer jail sentence, saying the six years he is serving for killing his girlfriend is "shockingly low".

The National Prosecution Authority will present its case to a one-day hearing at the Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein. Judges are expected to hand down their ruling at a later date.

SA paralympian Oscar Pistorius at last year's hearing in Pretoria. PICS /AFP

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 -- an act, he says, that came from mistaking her for a burglar.

Pistorius was originally convicted of culpable homicide -- the equivalent of manslaughter -- in 2014, but the appeal court in Bloemfontein upgraded his conviction to murder in 2015.

Pistorius, 30, who is being held at the Atteridgeville Correctional Centre prison in Pretoria, will not be in court on Friday.
‘We believe the sentence is shockingly low," NPA spokesman Luvuyo Mfaku told AFP.

"The court has discretion to deviate from the minimum sentence for murder of 15 years, after considering the circumstances, but we say that you cannot go so far below.

Oscar Pistorius and his late girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. File pic

"We cannot allow a situation where we create a precedent for a person sentenced for murder. It is inappropriate if you look at the gravity of the offence."

A spokesman for the Pistorius family was not immediately available to comment, but his lawyers have previously said they accepted his current sentence.