PRETORIA: South African prosecutors Tuesday appealed the manslaughter verdict and five-year sentence given to Oscar Pistorius for killing his girlfriend last year, calling it “shockingly light and inappropriate.”

“The sentence of five years imprisonment... for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp in the circumstances of this case is shockingly light, inappropriate and would not have been imposed by any reasonable court,” the National Prosecuting Authority said in papers filed in the High Court in Pretoria.

After a sensational seven-month trial, Pistorius was found guilty of culpable homicide, a charge equivalent to manslaughter, for shooting dead Steenkamp on Valentine’s Day 2013. Two weeks ago, the Paralympian was handed the five-year sentence, which he started serving immediately.

Under South Africa’s laws Pistorius can complete his sentence from home after serving one-sixth of his term in jail.

“In effect the sentence imposed on the accused means that he will qualify to be released on correctional supervision after serving a mere 10 months,” said the papers.

During his trial, Pistorius admitted to shooting 29-year-old Steenkamp four times through a locked toilet door at his upmarket Pretoria home, but said he thought he was firing at an intruder.

Prosecutors alleged that he shot Steenkamp on purpose after the couple had argued.

High Court Judge Thokozile Masipa found there was not enough evidence to convict the 27-year-old Paralympic and Olympic athlete of premeditated murder.

The prosecutors says Masipa “erred in over-emphasising the personal circumstances of the accused and the fact that he was suffering from post-traumatic stress, was anxious and ‘seems remorseful’.”

They also believe the judge did not appropriately take into account the actions of the athlete.

“There is a reasonable prospect that another court may come to a different finding” with regards to the sentence imposed or “in fact overturn the sentence.”

Pistorius is currently serving his sentence at a hospital section of a Pretoria prison.

The appeal sets the stage for another instalment of a legal battle that has gripped millions around the world.

The date for the appeal application has not been set.