PRETORIA: Prosecutors on Monday fiercely attacked the defence’s picture of “Blade Runner” Oscar Pistorius as a caring and charitable athlete, hoping to persuade the court that he deserves time behind bars for killing his girlfriend.

State prosecutor Gerrie Nel told a sentencing hearing that Pistorius’s charity work was nothing unusual for a superstar athlete, arguing he was primarily motivated by personal fame and fulfilling his contractual duties with major sponsors, including sunglasses brand Oakely and Nike.

“It is merely an advancement of your career to become involved,” Nel said in a scathing cross-examination of Pistorius’s longtime manager Peet van Zyl.

“I think a lot of sportsman want to make a difference and contribute,” replied Van Zyl.

“But as a bonus, as a flip side,” pressed Nel. “I’m just saying it’s a matter of course to be involved in charitable work for athletes, it’s not peculiar.” Pistorius, who at times cried and vomited during the trial, appeared relaxed in court, often passing notes to his legal team.

The state is working to cast doubt on the defence’s assertion that Pistorius is an ideal candidate for house arrest, as the judge hears the final defence witnesses in the 27-year-old star sprinter’s sentencing hearing.

Van Zyl took the witness stand for the second day to outline Pistorius’s charity work, an important component of the athlete’s strategy to avoid serving time behind bars.

On Monday, prison official Joel Maringa recommended that the track star should receive three years “correctional supervision” through house arrest for fatally shooting his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

He should also clean a Pretoria museum for 16 hours a month, Maringa said.

Prosecutor Nel described Maringa’s suggestion as “shockingly inappropriate”.

Maringa also said Pistorius had told him he planned to take up his career as an athlete again, and Nel pressed Van Zyl on this.

Pistorius’s manager did not rule out the possibility and said the sprinter had already been approached to give motivational speeches.

“I have received invitations for Mr Pistorius to address audiences” and give his message of “inspiration”, said Van Zyl.

Pistorius was found guilty last month of negligently killing Steenkamp in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2013.

The double amputee athlete was cleared of the more serious charge of murder. The lesser verdict shocked the country and fuelled criticism of South Africa’s legal system.

The sprinter admitted he killed Steenkamp by firing four bullets through a locked toilet door in his upmarket Pretoria home, but said he believed he had been shooting at a burglar.

The athlete’s therapist Lore Hartzenberg told the court Monday that Pistorius suffered genuine remorse and was virtually inconsolable during initial counselling sessions after he killed Steenkamp.

Pistorius is currently out on bail of one million rand (Dh332,000).

He had to sell his posh house inside a gated compound in Pretoria, the scene of the crime, to fund the cost of his defence, and has withdrawn from competitive sport since his arrest.

The sentencing hearing, which began on Monday, is expected to run for most of the week.

Pistorius could face up to 15 years in prison, or could dodge a jail term altogether with a non-custodial sentence.

The state has indicated it will call at least two witnesses, whose testimony is expected to wrap up on Wednesday or Thursday.

Judge Thokozile Masipa will likely make her decision on Friday, a state source told AFP.

Both the state and defence have 14 days to appeal Judge Masipa’s decision.

The trial, which began on March 3, was broadcast live on television and radio, feeding intense local and international media interest.