BANGKOK, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's convicted former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was released on parole on Sunday, six months after his return to the country from self-exile.

Xinhua reporters observed that a car carrying Thaksin left a police hospital in Bangkok at 6:06 am local time (2306 GMT) on Sunday, where he received medical treatment and served six months of his one-year prison sentence.

Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin previously said that the release on parole of Thaksin was in line with the law.

According to the country's Justice Ministry, the 74-year-old former prime minister is among the 930 inmates approved for parole this month. He is eligible for parole as he is over 70 years old and suffers from a serious illness.

Thaksin ended his exile of over 15 years and returned to Thailand in August last year, but was soon detained and faced an eight-year prison sentence on several charges.

However, shortly after his return, he was transferred from a Bangkok prison to a hospital due to health concerns.

Last September, Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn reduced Thaksin's eight-year prison sentence to one year following his request for a royal pardon.

Thaksin served as the Southeast Asian country's prime minister from 2001 to 2006 and had been in self-exile abroad since 2008.