Oscar Pistorius was treated for minor wrist injuries at a hospital and has been returned to a South African jail where the Olympian is serving a six-year sentence for killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, prison officials said Sunday.
The report of injuries to Pistorius, who denied he had attempted suicide, came as athletes compete at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Pistorius and his coach said before Steenkamp’s 2013 killing that they wanted to retire together at the Rio games.
Pistorius told officials that he suffered the injuries after falling out of bed, said Singabakho Nxumalo, a spokesman for the South Africa’s correctional services department.
The former track star was initially treated by medical staff at the Kgosi Mampuru II prison in Pretoria, and then transferred to Kalafong hospital, said Manelisi Wolela, another official at the department. Pistorius was returned to his cell on Saturday, and an investigation is underway.
“Oscar Pistorius denied speculations of a suicide attempt,” Wolela said in a text message to media.
“As a policy principle, we cannot further discuss a particular offender’s personal condition in the public domain,” he said.
Pistorius’ family declined to comment, referring inquiries to the correctional services department.
Pistorius has been held in a single cell in the hospital wing of the prison, reducing his interaction with other inmates.
During Pistorius’ sentencing hearing in June, a psychologist testified for the defense that the athlete was a “broken” man whose mental state had deteriorated over the last two years, and that he should be hospitalized and not jailed. Prosecutors have challenged such assessments, saying Pistorius has an aggressive streak and may have played up vulnerabilities in an attempt to win leniency from the judge presiding over his case.
