Thai ex-PM Thaksin makes first public appearance since release: AFP

Thaksin takes a photo with a supporter next to his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra (right) as they visit Royal Park Rajapruek in Chiang Mai on March 14, 2024. - AFP

BANGKOK: Thailand's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra visited a Bangkok temple on Thursday (March 14) in his first public appearance since being freed early from a jail sentence for graft and abuse of power.

The controversial billionaire, twice elected premier and ousted in a 2006 military coup, went to the Bangkok City Pillar Shrine ahead of a three-day trip to Chiang Mai in the kingdom's north later in the day.