Sondhi Limthongkul is, not for the first time, facing a serious fight to stay out of gaol. Many New Mandala readers will already have noted yesterday’s news that he was convicted of fraud and received a twenty-year prison sentence.

He is now, as usually happens in Thailand under such circumstances, out on bail and we assume that an appeal will follow. If you want to get some more context on the situation then this report from ABC Radio Australia has plenty of details. It also features Giles Ji Ungpakorn and I talking about Sondhi’s role in Thai politics. Giles suggests that Sondhi may be sacrificed in a deal between Yingluck Shinawatra’s Pheua Thai government and the Thai army. That is — not doubt about it — an interesting possibility.

Three years ago, in the aftermath of an episode when Sondhi was more literally in the firing line, Andrew Walker and I wrote:

If diehard Yellow Shirts like Sondhi have found themselves vulnerable, and can no longer rely on their old friends, then the more dangerous plotting has probably only just begun.

For today, at least, I wonder if that assessment still holds true.