A South African judge on Tuesday sentenced Oscar Pistorius, the Olympic and Paralympic star, to serve a maximum of five years in jail for the culpable homicide, or manslaughter, of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

Pistorius was also given a three-year suspended sentence for contravening the firearms control act by firing a pistol in a busy restaurant, to run concurrently. This will be suspended for five years “on condition that within the period of suspension the accused is not found guilty of a crime where there is negligence involving the use of a firearm”.

Delivering the lengthy 70-minute judgment, Judge Thokozile Masipa said it was “a sentence that is fair and just, both to society and the accused”. She said a non-custodial sentence “would send the wrong message to the community”, while adding that “on the other hand a long sentence would not be appropriate as it would lack the element of mercy”.