OLYMPIC and Paralympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius has spent his first night in prison after being sentenced to five years in jail for shooting dead his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp.

The track star is being housed separately from other inmates in a secure hospital wing of the notorious Pretoria Central Prison, which is home to some of South Africa's most hardened criminals.

It was once an execution site for opponents of the country's former white-minority government.

Fellow prisoners include ­apartheid death squad leader Eugene de Kock. De Kock, who has already served 18 years, is known to millions of the country's people as Prime Evil as he was responsible for thousands of deaths in the final years of apartheid.

Pistorius, 27, a double amputee, wiped away a tear as he was taken from the dock by two police officers at the High Court in Pretoria, after being sentenced yesterday for the culpable homicide of Ms Steenkamp, 29, at his home on Valentine's Day las year.

Ninety minutes later, an armoured police vehicle carrying Pistorius left the building. ­Pistorius is not expected to appeal the sentence or verdict,.

He was told by judge Thokozile Matilda Masipa that she had to balance a sentence that was "fair and just to society and to the accused".

Ms Masipa also rebuffed ­suggestions that Pistorius might be able to secure preferential justice despite the "equality before law" guarantee enshrined in the post-apartheid 1996 constitution.

She said: "It would be a sad day for this country if an impression was created that there is one law for the poor and disadvantaged, and one law for the rich and famous."

Ms Steenkamp, a law graduate and model, died when Pistorius shot her through a locked toilet door at his Pretoria home.

Prosecutors pushed for a murder conviction, but the athlete maintained he fired in the mistaken belief an intruder was hiding behind the door.

This defence struck home with many in a country with one of the world's highest rates of violent crime.

It emerged after sentencing that the athlete may only serve 10 months in prison, with the rest of the time being served in house arrest.

The ruling African National Congress's Women's League called for an appeal by the state against last month's culpable homicide conviction.

However, the Steenkamp f­amily's lawyer Dup De Bruyn said: "Justice was served".

With no minimum sentence for the crime, Pistorius could have been punished with a few years of house arrest combined with community service.

Protesters picketed outside the court. "Why are certain offenders more equal than others before the law?", said one.

However, Ms Masipa pointed to the moral and philosophical changes South Africa has undergone since the end of white rule and the 1994 election of Nelson Mandela, saying the courts were no longer about mob justice and an "eye-for-an-eye".

She said: "As a country we have moved on from the dark ages. Society cannot always get what they want because courts do not exist to win popularity contests."

Pistorius's defence lawyer, Barry Roux, said he expected the athlete to serve only 10 months of the five-year sentence in jail and the remainder under house arrest.

Pistorius will not be able to compete at the Rio 2016 Olympics or Paralympics, as under sporting rules he cannot resume his athletics career under his full term is served.

Pistorius became one of the biggest names in world athletics at the London 2012 Olympics when he reached the semi-finals of the 400m race against able-bodied athletes.