Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra reaches out to his daughter, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, following his release on parole after serving eight months of his one-year sentence at Klong Prem Central Prison, in Bangkok on Monday. | REUTERS

Bangkok – Influential former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra ⁠was released from prison on Monday, after about eight months behind bars following a court ruling that deemed he had wrongfully stayed in hospital to avoid jail time.

The 76-year-old billionaire remade and dominated Thai politics for a quarter-century, but ​his influence has waned of late following his jailing and his ‌once formidable ‌Pheu Thai Party's worst election performance on record earlier ​this year.

His hair closely cropped and in a simple white shirt, Thaksin walked out of prison around 7:40 a.m.…