By: Patpicha Tanakasempipat
Former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra — one of Thailand’s most polarizing but enduring political figures since he became prime minister in 2001 — was jailed in September for corruption after returning to the country from years of self-imposed exile. Just eight months later, on May 11, he walked out of a Bangkok prison having served parts of a sentence reduced by royal pardon.











