Article 337: Extortion
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดข่มขืนใจผู้อื่นให้ยอมให้หรือยอมจะให้ตนหรือผู้อื่นได้ประโยชน์ในลักษณะที่เป็นทรัพย์สิน โดยใช้กำลังประทุษร้าย หรือโดยขู่เข็ญว่าจะทำอันตรายต่อชีวิต ร่างกาย เสรีภาพ ชื่อเสียงหรือทรัพย์สินของผู้ถูกขู่เข็ญหรือของบุคคลที่สาม จนผู้ถูกข่มขืนใจยอมเช่นว่านั้น ผู้นั้นกระทำความผิดฐานกรรโชก ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินห้าปี และปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งแสนบาท ถ้าความผิดฐานกรรโชกได้กระทำโดย (๑) ขู่ว่าจะฆ่า ขู่ว่าจะทำร้ายร่างกายให้ผู้ถูกข่มขืนใจ หรือผู้อื่นให้ได้รับอันตรายสาหัส หรือขู่ว่าจะทำให้เกิดเพลิงไหม้แก่ทรัพย์ของผู้ถูกข่มขืนใจหรือผู้อื่น หรือ (๒) มีอาวุธติดตัวมาขู่เข็ญ ผู้กระทำต้องระวางโทษจำคุกตั้งแต่หกเดือนถึงเจ็ดปี และปรับตั้งแต่หนึ่งหมื่นบาทถึงหนึ่งแสนสี่หมื่นบาท หมายเหตุ: [อัตราโทษ แก้ไขเพิ่มเติมโดยมาตรา ๔ แห่งพระราชบัญญัติแก้ไขเพิ่มเติมประมวลกฎหมายอาญา (ฉบับที่ ๒๖) พ.ศ. ๒๕๖๐]
English translation
Whoever compels another person to give, or to agree to give, a benefit in the nature of property to himself or to another person, by violence or by threatening to injure the life, body, liberty, reputation or property of the person threatened or of a third person, so that the person compelled submits, commits the offence of extortion and shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding five years and a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht.
Where the offence of extortion is committed:
(1) by threatening to kill, to cause grievous bodily harm to the person compelled or to another person, or to set fire to the property of the person compelled or of another person; or
(2) while carrying a weapon with which to threaten,
the offender shall be liable to imprisonment from six months to seven years and a fine from ten thousand to one hundred and forty thousand baht.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
Extortion under Section 337 sits in the chapter on extortion, blackmail, robbery and gang-robbery. Its elements are compulsion by either of two alternative means, actual violence or a threat to injure the life, body, liberty, reputation or property of the person threatened or of a third person, plus a resulting submission by which the victim gives or agrees to give property or a benefit. Because violence and threat are alternatives, a demand backed by actual force is extortion even where nothing was said; conversely a threat alone suffices without any force being used. It is distinguished from robbery under Section 339, which requires force or the immediate threat of force used to take property on the spot, whereas extortion works through compulsion that induces the victim to hand property or a benefit over. Blackmail under Section 338 is the special variant in which the threat is to disclose a damaging secret. The second paragraph adds a heavier tier of six months to seven years with a fine of 10,000 to 140,000 baht where the threat is to kill, to cause grievous bodily harm to the person compelled or another person, or to set fire to property, or where the offender carries a weapon with which to threaten.
Why this matters in practice
Exposure runs up to five years imprisonment plus a fine, and the statute uses "and" for the fine, so both can be imposed. Paragraph two applies instead where the threat is to kill, to cause grievous bodily harm or to set fire to property, or where the offender carried a weapon with which to threaten, and it sets six months to seven years with a fine of 10,000 to 140,000 baht, so a minimum term comes into play. On the elements, note that the section is made out by actual violence as well as by a threat: a defence that nothing threatening was said does not answer a case built on force actually used, and both limbs have to be addressed. In practice the line between lawful hard bargaining or debt collection and criminal extortion turns on the presence and nature of the compulsion. Attempted extortion is also chargeable where the victim never yields. Anyone accused should preserve the exact wording of the alleged threat and its context. Learn more about criminal law in Thailand.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 3123/2564 (2021)
A genuine threat is an essential element of extortion. Where the accused's conduct is not a threat, the charge lacks the element of extortion under Section 337 paragraph one and the complaint is unlawful.
The court found the accused had not threatened the victim with prosecution, and the conduct was only to avoid inspection of the shop. Because the act was not a threat, the complaint lacked the essential element of extortion and was held unlawful.
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 2966/2568 (2025)
Extortion under Section 337 must be distinguished from robbery under Section 339 on the facts, since the defence may contest whether taking property amounted to extortion rather than robbery.
The defendant argued that the conduct amounted only to extortion under Section 337, together with other offences, and not to robbery under Section 339. The decision illustrates how the two property offences are separated by whether the taking rested on a threat or on force used to seize property.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 159 Supreme Court decisions (1959 to 2025)
Décisions de citation sélectionnées
- Decision 3123/2564 (2021)
- Decision 3116/2558 (2015)
- Decision 12789/2556 (2013)
- Decision 2273/2556 (2013)
- Decision 22746/2555 (2012)
- Décision 2385-2387/2554 (2011)
- Decision 15718/2553 (2010)
- Decision 10843/2553 (2010)
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 83 90
- Article 91 65
- Article 90 49
- Article 78 43
- Article 80 40
- Article 148 33
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 peine encourue pour extorsion en Thaïlande ?
Under the first paragraph of Section 337 extortion carries imprisonment not exceeding five years and a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand baht. The second paragraph sets a heavier tier of imprisonment from six months to seven years and a fine from ten thousand to one hundred and forty thousand baht, which applies where the threat was to kill, to cause grievous bodily harm to the person compelled or to another person, or to set fire to property, or where the offender carried a weapon with which to threaten.
Quelle est la différence entre l'extorsion et le vol ?
Extortion under Section 337 is committed by using violence, or by threatening harm, so that the victim submits and gives or agrees to give property or a benefit. Robbery under Section 339 is a theft: the offender uses force, or threatens that force will be used at once, in order to take the property on the spot. The difference is that extortion works by making the victim yield, while robbery is the taking itself carried out by force.
Une demande d'argent est-elle toujours une extorsion ?
No. Section 337 requires one of two things: actual violence, or a threat to injure the life, body, liberty, reputation or property of the person compelled or of a third person, and the victim must submit as a result. A demand made without either is not extortion. Note that the two are alternatives, so a demand backed by force actually used is extortion even though no threat was voiced.
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Citation simple
Penal Code, s. 337 (Thailand) -
Citation académique
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 337. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-337/ (accessed 30 août 2026). -
Citation thaïlandaise
ป.อ. มาตรา 337 -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-337/"><p>Whoever compels another person to give, or to agree to give, a benefit in the nature of property to himself or to another person, by violence or by threatening to injure the life, body, liberty, reputation or property of the person threatened or of a…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 337 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-337/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
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