The judge in the Oscar Pistorius trial has ordered him to start daily tests to assess his mental state when he killed his girlfriend.
Judge Thokozile Masipa has told the South African Paralympian to attend Weskoppies psychiatric hospital in Pretoria as an outpatient for a month.
Oscar Pistorius leaving court on Tuesday. Photo: AFP
It comes after a defence witness said the double amputee was suffering from generalised anxiety disorder, the BBC reports.
Mr Pistorius denies intentionally killing Reeva Steenkamp, saying he accidentally shot the model through the toilet door on 14 February last year in a state of panic, mistaking the 29-year-old for an intruder.
The prosecution had argued the tests were essential after forensic psychiatrist Merryll Vorster told the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria that Mr Pistorius was "a danger to society". But the defence vigourously opposed the move.
Judge Masipa said on Tuesday that four appointed psychiatrists would "inquire into whether the accused by reason of mental illness or mental defect was at the time of the commission of the offence criminally responsible for the offence as charged."
The team would decide whether he was "capable of appreciating the wrongfulness of his act", she said.
Court proceedings were adjourned until 30 June. Mr Pistorius could face a life sentence if he is found guilty of murder.
