The applicant, a lieutenant-colonel in the South African Police Service and commanding officer of the Grahamstown Local Criminal Record Centre, was convicted in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court on two counts of fraud. The first count arose from a trip in June 2010 where he applied for and obtained authorisation to use a police vehicle on the representation that he was required to testify in a criminal case in Cradock. In truth, the case did not proceed, he did not testify, and tracking data showed that he travelled extensively to other towns (including East London and King William’s Town) for purposes not disclosed or authorised. The second count arose from an unauthorised trip in February 2011, undertaken without any application or disclosure, during which he travelled 351 km in an official vehicle. Vehicle tracking data and an anomalous odometer reading suggested concealment of the trip. His explanations for both trips were rejected as false. After his conviction and sentence (a fine of R20 000 or two years’ imprisonment), his applications for leave to appeal were refused by the magistrate and the High Court, prompting the present application to the Supreme Court of Appeal.