It was meant to be a rare flash of mercy from Myanmar's iron-fisted ruling junta. But Aung San Suu Kyi seemed unimpressed.
"Thank you for the verdict," the 64-year-old said sarcastically after a minister made a surprise entrance to the courtroom to announce that a three-year sentence of hard labour had been commuted to 18 months house arrest.
Wearing an elegant pink and grey longyi -- the country's traditional dress -- the Nobel peace laureate also refused to stand up as others in the courtroom at the notorious Insein Prison did when Home Affairs Minister Maung Oo entered.
Her reaction at Tuesday's ruling may have been grim faced but it was still in keeping with her status as the most powerful symbol of peaceful resistance in a nation ruled with an iron fist.
And the junta's determination to keep her detained showed that the woman known here as "The Lady" remains their biggest threat, despite recent questions over her relevance as a new generation of dissidents emerges.
"The only person that matters is Aung San Suu Kyi; that's why they are so determined to lock her up," said Zarni, a research fellow on Myanmar at the London School of Economics, who goes by one name.