Deeper debates are brewing behind a Thai court's decision to seize $1.4 billion of former exiled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's $2.2 billion family fortune.
After a military-backed coup ousted Thaksin in 2006, the junta that took power froze his family's fortune and accused him of corruption. On Friday the Supreme Court ruled that Thaksin unlawfully concealed his assets while in office and abused his power for personal gain, according to the Associated Press.
In announcing its decision, the Supreme Court said seizing all of Thaksin's money would be unfair since some of it was made before he became prime minister.
Many analysts had hoped for such an outcome since a decision to reclaim all of Thaksin's fortune could have sparked deep political unrest among the country's already divided color-coded movements.
The "red shirts," as Thaksin's supporters are known, say he is a victim of a long-running political rivalry, while the yellow shirts say the graft spread by Thaksin and his cronies is holding Thailand back and scaring off investors.
The verdict quelled fears of widespread protests, which the red shirts say they will host in March instead, and led many observers to conclude that Thailand had closed the chapter in its ongoing political saga.
But the verdict is unlikely to be turning point in Thai politics that have been in disarray since 2006. While neither the red or yellow shirts can claim the verdict was unjust, the social tensions that the Thaksin drama has fomented are unlikely to let up.
Thaksin was a populist leader well liked by the country's lower classes, particularly the farming communities in the northeast. His premiership gave them the feeling that they had a stake in their government's decisions, and they saw the effects of programs aimed at providing health care and financial assistance to their communities.
The current government, led by Democrat Abhisit Vejjajiva, is totally ineffective say Thaksin supporters, who believe political horse-trading allowed Abhisit to win the latest vote. They fear a referendum scheduled for later in the year will be postponed, and many have grown disgusted with a political system they see as completely illegitimate.
"People don't understand the meaning of freedom," says Nipon Riabriang, a freelance photographer and former political activist, who says freedom means questioning one's government and holding it accountable for its actions.
Now people spend all their time online, watching TV or playing video games, Riabriang says. Despite agitators among the middle class Red and Yellow shirts, he believes too many people are complacent, including politicians who prioritize compromise over direct action.
At least Thaksin was decisive, says Riabriang, who does not allow such praise to excuse the former prime minister's greed, which was uncovered with the sale of his telecommunications empire Shin Corp, but ran much deeper.
As evidence, Riabriang refers to the Thailand Village and Urban Revolving Fund, which was a promise by the Thai government to provide every village and urban community with a million baht (about $22,500) as working capital for local credit associations. Yet much of the money went toward purchases of motorbikes, refrigerators and televisions produced by companies owned or invested in by Thaksin's business cronies, Riabriang says.
With their faith in government growing thin, many Thais have placed their trust in the King, a man who they say knows the Thai people better than any politician. But the 82-year-old monarch has been in hospital since last year, and his successor has garnered far less faith among Thai citizens.
"What to do?" says Punpen Wipawen, an entrepreneur who backs Thaksin. Though the former prime minister keeps up with his supports through a Facebook page and frequent Twitter updates, his return to Thailand is unlikely. And despite Friday's verdict, the rift between Thailand's social classes - a rift that has in recent years become color-coded - is set to keep growing.