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.…