Common Personal Crimes

Crime in Thailand includes assault which is the most common crime in the country. The law is covered under Chapter 2 of the Thai Penal Code. This is usually assault or assault with intent. This covers both deliberate as well as negligence. We will cover the two main sections of the Act.

· Section 295: Punishes physical harm caused to another person with imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 4,000 Baht, or both.

The two defendants in this case assaulted the victim. The first defendant strangled the victim while threatening her for an hour. He wanted her confession to a break-in. Likewise she refused. So defendant 1 cut her back as well as her abdomen with a large voice. This occurred while defendant 2 was pointed a gun at the victims head. The victim’s wounds healed within a week. This under Thai law was bodily harm under Section 295 of the Criminal Code. Supreme Court Decision No. 2822/1988

In this case someone intervened in a fight. This fight was between his relatives and the two victims. They had used a kitchen knife to slash the victims. The assault left the first victim with two head wounds and this has healed in 15 days. The second victim had a total of eight wounds. Amongst the injuries was a deep cut along the ear and neck. During the trial the doctor did not testify that these wounds would cause death. So they had not been seen as serious physical harm. Likewise the defendant is guilty of causing physical harm under Sections 295 and 91 of the Criminal Code. Supreme Court Decision No. 2216/1987

· Section 297: Addresses aggravated assault, which includes causing serious injury, with punishments of imprisonment of up to 10 years and fines up to 20,000 Baht.

The Court of First Instance has found the defendant guilty of assault under Section 295. For this he was sentenced to 8 months in prison. However the Court of Appeal changed the verdict. They found that the defendant was guilty of assault causing serious harm under Section 297. They then changed the sentence to 2 years in prison. The case originally started as a charge of attempted murder. Supreme Court Decision No. 1650/1988

Child abandonment, a rare but significant offense, is addressed in Chapter 6 of the Thai Penal Code.

· Section 306: Criminalizes abandoning a child under 9 years old in a manner that endangers their life. Punishment includes imprisonment of up to three years or fines up to 6,000 Baht.

There is a difference between child abandonment and kidnapping. Lets look at an example of this. The mother who left her child in a public park was charged with child abandonment under Section 306. In contrast, a person taking a child without consent was prosecuted under kidnapping laws.

Murder in Thailand is one of the most severe crimes and has been outlined in Chapter 1 of the Thai Penal Code. We will also look at this from a Western legal view as look at how aberratio ictus fits into Thai law and its criminal law. This Latin expression means error in the blow. The concept aberratio ictus as you might know is a Latin term used in criminal law. This means where a person intends to kill a specific person but then unintentionally injures or kills someone else due to a misdirected blow or action.

· Section 288: Defines murder as intentionally causing another person’s death, with punishment ranging from 15 years to life imprisonment or the death penalty.

The defendant in this case shot the deceased twice, killing him. Likewise the bullets also accidentally hit and injured S. They has all been in the group. The defendant’s intention however was only to kill the deceased and not S. Therefore, the defendant’s actions were considered a single act that violated multiple laws under the Criminal Code, Sections 288, 80, and 60, and not a multiple offense. Much like the West we can see aberratio ictus in this example. Supreme Court Decision No. 2852/1988

· Section 289: Covers premeditated murder, with harsher penalties.

The defendants were angry with the deceased. They decided to prepare weapons and went to his house. Firstly they shot the deceased’s wife and then followed and shot the deceased, setting fire to the boat. This was premedited murder while his was was immediate murder. Defendants 1, 2, and 3 did not shoot the deceased but prepared weapons and discussed the plan. Additionally Defendant 4 shot the deceased’s wife, and Defendant 2 drove the boat to find the deceased. Defendants 1 and 3 did not object, making them complicit.

All four defendants were found guilty under the Criminal Code, Section 288, 83 (20 years imprisonment each), Section 289 (4), 83 (death sentence), and Section 217, 83 (4 years imprisonment each). The death sentence was imposed, and the prison sentences were not combined. Supreme Court Decision No. 4308/1987

Section 295 of the Criminal Code states that anyone who causes injury to another person’s body or mind is committing bodily harm and can be punished with imprisonment for up to two years, a fine of up to 4,000 Baht, or both.

Section 80 is for attempted offenses. This Section specifies that anyone who commences to commit an offense but does not complete it, or completes it but does not achieve its intended result, is attempting to commit an offense.

The defendant in this case threw a grenade at the victim with the intent to kill, but it did not explode because the safety pin was not removed. Likewise the grenade was capable of detonating. This made the defendant here guilty under Sections 288 and 80 of the Criminal Code. Additionally the plaintiff sued under these sections, and the Court of First Instance found the defendant guilty under Sections 288 and 81.

The defendant appealed, and the Court of Appeal changed the judgment to Sections 295 and 80. The Supreme Court, finding the defendant guilty under Sections 288 and 80. Supreme Court Decision No. 4402/1987

Not uncommon in Thailand is blackmail and extortion are addressed in Chapter 3 of the Penal Code. We will show a few examples of what happens in Thailand. These are more common personal crimes.

· Section 337: Penalizes extortion with imprisonment of up to five years or fines of up to 10,000 Baht.

The plaintiff’s complaint alleges that the defendant and his associates abused their power and position to coerce the victim into handing over 140 kilograms of butchered buffalo meat, threatening to seize 500 kilograms of meat for inspection and arrest the victim. The victim complied, and the defendant’s actions constitute offenses under Sections 148 and 337 of the Criminal Code, which do not require dishonest intent.

The defendant and his associates obtained property worth 6,000 baht from the victim. According to Section 432 of the Civil and Commercial Code, they must jointly pay compensation for the damages, meaning each person is liable for the entire debt. The appeal to suspend the punishment is based on a question of fact. Supreme Court Decision No. 2786/1986

The second defendant, along with his gang, threatened the victim and demanded 6,000 baht, falsely claiming they needed it to stop a complaint about the victim being a vagrant monk. When the victim said he had no money, the second defendant asked for whatever he had, making threatening gestures. The scared victim pointed to an envelope containing 2,000 baht, which the defendant took. This act constitutes extortion under Section 337 of the Criminal Code. Supreme Court Decision No. 3221/1979

The commanding officer’s order for excise inspectors to inspect liquor stores in designated areas was a division of work, not a limitation on their authority. Inspections were not limited to official hours. The first to third defendants, excise inspectors, inspected a liquor store outside their assigned area and after official hours, demanded money from the victim to avoid arrest, abusing their power under Section 148 of the Criminal Code.

They threatened to seize the liquor twice a month if money was not paid. Previous threats and payments out of fear by the victim, who did not sell illegal liquor, made the defendants’ actions an offense under Section 337 of the Criminal Code. Supreme Court Decision No. 3679/1986

These are examples that we have used to show you the common personal crimes in Thailand. Speak to our criminal law lawyer for assistance. You can also see the articles that we wrote on extradition from Thailand as well as common property crimes in Thailand. Lastly look at the following as well as an extradition law firm in Thailand as wall. See other topics on here under the common personal crimes as well. 

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