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Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius (L) chats with his brother Carl at the end of his trial, at the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria May 20, 2014. Oscar Pistorius was ordered on Tuesday to undergo a month of psychiatric tests to find out whether he was criminally responsible on the night he shot dead his girlfriend on February 14 last year. [Photo/Agencies]
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PRETORIA -- A South African judge has ruled that Oscar Pistorius will start a period of psychiatric evaluation at a state institution on Monday.
Judge Thokozile Masipa said Tuesday that the double-amputee athlete's murder trial will be postponed until June 30 while he is observed as an outpatient at Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Pretoria.
Pistorius must go to the hospital at 9 a.m. every weekday and will be evaluated by a panel of four mental health experts. He can leave every day at 4 p.m. or when allowed by hospital authorities. Masipa ruled that Pistorius' period of observation will not be more than 30 days.
A psychiatrist had testified at Pistorius' trial that he had an anxiety disorder which may have contributed to him fatally shooting girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year.
