Article 191: Freeing a person from custody
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดกระทำด้วยประการใดให้ผู้ที่ถูกคุมขังตามอำนาจของศาล ของพนักงานอัยการ ของพนักงานสอบสวน หรือของเจ้าพนักงานผู้มีอำนาจสืบสวนคดีอาญา หลุดพ้นจากการคุมขังไป ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินห้าปี หรือปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งแสนบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ ถ้าผู้ที่หลุดพ้นจากการคุมขังไปนั้นเป็นบุคคลที่ต้องคำพิพากษาจากศาลหนึ่งศาลใดให้ลงโทษประหารชีวิต จำคุกตลอดชีวิต หรือจำคุกตั้งแต่สิบห้าปีขึ้นไป หรือมีจำนวนตั้งแต่สามคนขึ้นไป ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่หกเดือนถึงเจ็ดปี และปรับตั้งแต่หนึ่งหมื่นบาทถึงหนึ่งแสนสี่หมื่นบาท ถ้าความผิดตามมาตรานี้ได้กระทำโดยใช้กำลังประทุษร้าย หรือโดยขู่เข็ญว่าจะใช้กำลังประทุษร้าย หรือโดยมีหรือใช้อาวุธปืนหรือวัตถุระเบิด ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษหนักกว่าโทษที่กฎหมายบัญญัติไว้ในสองวรรคก่อนกึ่งหนึ่ง หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๖ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever, by any means, causes a person held in confinement under the authority of a court, a public prosecutor, an inquiry official, or an official having power to investigate criminal cases, to be released from confinement, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding five years, or a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht, or both.
If the person released from confinement is a person sentenced by any court to death, imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of fifteen years or more, or where there are three or more such persons, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment from six months to seven years and a fine from ten thousand baht to one hundred and forty thousand baht.
If the offense under this section is committed by using violence, by threatening to use violence, or by having or using a firearm or an explosive, the offender shall be liable to a penalty heavier by one half than that provided in the two preceding paragraphs.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
The elements are: (1) a person lawfully held in confinement by one of the listed authorities; and (2) an act by any means that causes that person to be released from confinement. Unlike Section 190 (self-escape), Section 191 targets a third party who springs the detainee. Paragraph two aggravates by the seriousness of the freed person's sentence (death, life, or 15 years or more) or by numbers (three or more), and paragraph three adds a one-half increase for violence, threats, firearms, or explosives. A threshold condition is that the person was actually in lawful custody; if there was no valid confinement, the offense is not made out. Section 192 addresses subsequently harboring an escapee.
Why this matters in practice
This is a serious charge because the base tier already reaches five years and rises sharply with the freed person's sentence or with any weapon. A recurring defense is that the person was never actually in lawful custody: if the detainee had not yet been secured under an official's control, freeing or aiding them does not complete the offense. Any firearm or explosive raises every tier by one half, so weapon involvement is the key aggravating fact to assess. Anyone accused of helping a detainee escape should seek criminal law advice in Thailand early.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 7322/2557 (2014)
Section 191 requires that the person was actually held in lawful custody; where officers had not yet been able to arrest and secure the person, the defendant's act does not constitute the offense.
Because officers had not yet succeeded in arresting the person, he was not in the custody of an official with investigative power, so the defendant's conduct did not amount to an offense under Section 191, even though it was violence toward an official under Section 138 paragraph two.
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 5681/2568 (2025)
Section 191 punishes causing, by any means, a person held in confinement under the authority of a court, a public prosecutor, an inquiry official or an official having power to investigate criminal cases to be released from that confinement, with a heavier penalty in paragraph two where the person released was sentenced to death, to imprisonment for life or to imprisonment of fifteen years or more, or where there are three or more such persons. Its third paragraph raises the penalty by one half where the offence is committed by using or threatening violence, or by having or using a firearm or an explosive: a firearm carried and ready for use in committing the offence triggers the aggravation even if it is never fired.
Discussing firearm aggravation across several provisions, the court cited Section 191 paragraph three as an example, explaining that a firearm close at hand and ready to be used suffices given the serious danger firearms present.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 16 Supreme Court decisions (1960 to 2025)
Décisions de citation sélectionnées
- Decision 7322/2557 (2014)
- Décision 2535/2550 (2007)
- Decision 3031/2547 (2004)
- Decision 598/2538 (1995)
- Décision 2861/2522 (1979)
- Decision 2159/2518 (1975)
- Decision 1338/2517 (1974)
- Décision 391/2509 (1966)
Cette liste est sélectionnée automatiquement, en privilégiant les jugements qui reposent sur cet article plutôt que sur ceux qui se contentent de le citer lors du prononcé de la peine. Elle n'a pas encore été examinée par le cabinet.
Le plus souvent cité aux côtés de
- Article 157 8
- Article 91 6
- Article 90 6
- Article 83 6
- Article 140 5
- Article 204 5
Sections qui apparaissent le plus souvent dans les mêmes jugements que celui-ci. Le chiffre correspond au nombre de décisions.
Calculé sur l'ensemble du corpus de 83 652 décisions de la Cour suprême du cabinet, de 1921 à 2026. Le décompte est exhaustif ; la plage d'années indiquée élimine les valeurs aberrantes rares afin de refléter la répartition réelle des citations. Ces chiffres sont calculés par nos soins et ne constituent pas des statistiques officielles de la Cour. Comment nous les comptons et ce que nous avons mesuré
Foire aux questions
Quelle est la différence entre l'article 190 et l'article 191 ?
L’article 190 punit le détenu qui s’évade de son propre chef ; l’article 191 punit un tiers qui libère une personne détenue légalement. L’article 191 prévoit une peine de base plus lourde, pouvant aller jusqu’à cinq ans.
Est-ce un moyen de défense que la personne n'ait pas été correctement arrêtée ?
Oui. L'article 191 exige que la personne ait été effectivement détenue légalement. Si la personne n'était pas placée sous l'autorité d'un agent, la libérer ou lui porter assistance ne constitue pas une infraction.
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Citer cette section
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Citation simple
Penal Code, s. 191 (Thailand) -
Citation académique
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 191. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-191/ (accessed 30 août 2026). -
Citation thaïlandaise
ป.อ. มาตรา 191 -
Lien permanent
https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-191/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-191/"><p>Whoever, by any means, causes a person held in confinement under the authority of a court, a public prosecutor, an inquiry official, or an official having power to investigate criminal cases, to be released from confinement, shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding five years,…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 191 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-191/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
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