The prosecutor at the Oscar Pistorius murder trial has
suggested the South African athlete is using his emotions "as an
escape".
He broke down in tears four times on Monday and has also
vomited in court.
"Now you trying to be emotional and it's not
working," said prosecutor Gerrie Nel.
Mr Pistorius admits killing girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in
February last year, but says he fired his gun after mistaking her for an
intruder.
Mr Nel said the Olympic sprinter, 27, had deliberately shot
Ms Steenkamp, a model, after the couple had had an argument.
As the prosecutor resumed his cross-examination on Monday,
he accused Mr Pistorius of "tailoring his evidence" as he went along
to suit the defence case, which had been "concocted".
"Your version of events is untrue," Mr Nel said.
Shortly before the case adjourned for the day, Mr Nel said:
"You're getting emotional now because you're getting frustrated because
your version [of events] is improbable.
The prosecutor, known as "bull terrier" for his
fierce style of questioning, then asked: "You're not using your emotional
state as an escape are you?"
The BBC's Pumza Fihlani in the South Africa capital Pretoria
says Mr Nel spent much of the day trying to highlight apparent inconsistencies
between Mr Pistorius' bail application and his evidence in court.
On one occasion, when Mr Pistorius corrected Mr Nel, the
prosecutor said this showed Mr Pistorius was a "stickler for detail"
and yet on many aspects of the case, the athlete was being vague.
'Changed aim'
Earlier, Mr Nel again pressed Mr Pistorius on the moment he
shot Ms Steenkamp.
The athlete, a double amputee, said he had not intended to
kill anyone.
"I fired out of fear," he said.
This prompted Mr Nel to say Mr Pistorius was changing his
story from self-defence to saying he shot by accident.
The prosecutor said this was because the truth was:
"You fired at Reeva."
"It's not true," Mr Pistorius replied, breaking
into tears and prompting the court to briefly adjourn.
After the break, Mr Nel said that, as Mr Pistorius was
trained to use firearms, the court could not accept he had fired by
"mistake".
He also said that the athlete had changed his aim to hit Ms
Steenkamp after she had fallen down when she was hit by the first bullet. This
was denied by Mr Pistorius.
The court was shown the toilet door, through which Mr
Pistorius shot Ms Steenkamp
The prosecutor said the fact that a pair of Ms Steenkamp's
jeans was lying on the floor showed that she was in the middle of getting
dressed in order to leave Mr Pistorius' house when she was shot after the
couple had argued in the early hours of Valentine's Day 2013.
This, too, was denied.
The sprinter also started sobbing as he recalled shouting at
the burglars he thought were in his house.
When asked why he broke down, Mr Pistorius said: "I am
traumatised" by the events of that night.
Oscar Pistorius had been going out with Reeva Steenkamp for
three months
The prosecutor also pointed to forensic evidence that showed
Ms Steenkamp had eaten within a couple of hours of her death.
The athlete says the couple had last eaten together about 19:00,
some eight hours before she was shot.
Mr Pistorius says there was no row and they had a quiet
evening together, before he woke up on hearing a noise in the bathroom.
Mr Nel said he would resume on Tuesday with a series of
questions about the toilet.
Prosecution witnesses have testified to hearing a woman
scream, but the defence disputes their testimony.
The Olympic sprinter faces life imprisonment if convicted of
murdering the 29-year-old model and law graduate.
If he is acquitted of murder, the court must consider an
alternative charge of culpable homicide, for which he could receive about 15
years in prison.
Mr Pistorius also faces charges of illegally firing a gun in
public and of illegally possessing ammunition, both of which he denies.
There are no juries at trials in South Africa, and his fate
will ultimately be decided by the judge, assisted by two assessors.
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