Article 397: Bullying, harassment or nuisance
Statutory text (Thai original)
ผู้ใดกระทำด้วยประการใด ๆ ต่อผู้อื่น อันเป็นการรังแก ข่มเหง คุกคาม หรือกระทำให้ได้รับความอับอายหรือเดือดร้อนรำคาญ ต้องระวางโทษปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งหมื่นบาท
ถ้าการกระทำความผิดตามวรรคหนึ่งเป็นการกระทำในที่สาธารณสถานหรือต่อหน้าธารกำนัล ต้องระวางโทษจำคุกไม่เกินหนึ่งเดือน หรือปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งหมื่นบาท หรือทั้งจำทั้งปรับ
Verbatim from the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State
English translation
Whoever, by any means, does an act to another person that bullies, oppresses or harasses that person, or causes that person to be humiliated or annoyed, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand baht.
Where the offence under paragraph one is committed in a public place or in the presence of others, the offender shall be liable to imprisonment not exceeding one month, or a fine not exceeding ten thousand baht, or both.
ThaiLawOnline translation, written from the Thai original and verified
Firm annotation
The elements are any act done to another person that bullies, oppresses or harasses that person, or causes that person to be humiliated or annoyed. The section imposes no requirement that the act be done without reasonable cause; no such qualifier appears in the text and a complainant is not put to proof of it. Paragraph one is fine-only at up to 10,000 baht, while paragraph two makes commission in a public place or in the presence of others an aggravated form that adds imprisonment of up to one month. The present wording was substituted by Section 9 of the Penal Code Amendment Act (No. 30) B.E. 2568, in force 30 December 2568, and that substitution is the key to reading the section today: the same Act removed sexually-tinged conduct from here and created a dedicated offence of sexual harassment in Section 284/1, with the term itself defined in the new Section 1(19). Harassment that is sexual therefore belongs to Section 284/1, where the base exposure is a year and public or online commission carries three, and Section 397 is left as the residual provision for non-sexual bullying, oppression and nuisance. Harassment that is continuous or repeated and leaves the victim unable to lead a normal life is Section 284/1 paragraph two, not this section, and causing fear by threat is Section 392. The offence is not compoundable, and the Penal Code makes no petty offence compoundable. Section 398 is a separate offence of cruelty to a dependent child, sick or aged person, not a compounding provision.
Why this matters in practice
Paragraph one is fine-only, but the public-place form in paragraph two adds jail exposure, so where the conduct occurred, a street, market, or other public place, matters to the penalty. The first question in any modern case, though, is whether the conduct was sexual at all: since 30 December 2568 sexually harassing conduct is charged under Section 284/1, not here, and the difference in exposure is large, a fine of 10,000 baht against a year, or three years where the act was in public or in a computer system the general public can reach. Note also that there is no element of an absence of reasonable cause in this section, so a complainant is not required to prove one. The offence is not compoundable, so a settlement does not extinguish the right to prosecute, although in practice a case ends where the injured person will not pursue it. What is left to Section 397 is non-sexual bullying, oppression, nuisance and menacing conduct that does not reach assault or a threat causing fear. For general context, see our guide to Thai criminal law.
Cited in 16 Supreme Court decisions (1960 to 2024)
Décisions de citation sélectionnées
- Decision 6046-6048/2567 (2024)
- Decision 9811/2551 (2008)
- Decision 2874/2528 (1985)
- Decision 1908/2518 (1975)
- Décision 3098/2566 (2023)
- Decision 1398/2506 (1963)
- Decision 12983/2558 (2015)
- Decision 388/2505 (1962)
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 29 7
- Article 30 7
- Article 393 7
- Article 91 5
- Article 90 4
- Article 78 4
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
Le harcèlement ou les remarques déplacées en public constituent-ils un crime en vertu de l'article 397 ?
It depends whether the conduct is sexual. Non-sexual bullying, oppression, harassment or nuisance is punishable under Section 397, and doing it in a public place or in the presence of others raises the penalty from a fine of up to 10,000 baht to up to one month's imprisonment, a fine of up to 10,000 baht, or both. Catcalling is a different matter since 30 December 2568: sexually harassing conduct now falls under Section 284/1, which carries up to one year, and up to three years where it is done in a public place, in the presence of others, or in a computer system the general public can reach. Note also that Section 397 contains no requirement that the act be done without reasonable cause.
Pourquoi le fait de commettre l'infraction dans un lieu public est-il important ?
Paragraph one alone carries only a fine of up to 10,000 baht, but paragraph two makes the same conduct in a public place an aggravated offence that adds up to one month imprisonment.
Une accusation en vertu de l'article 397 est-elle susceptible de transaction ?
No. Section 398 is a separate offence of cruelty to a dependent child, sick or aged person, not a compounding provision, and the Penal Code makes no petty offence compoundable. A settlement therefore does not extinguish the right to prosecute, although in practice a case ends where the injured person will not pursue it.
Guides connexes sur ThaiLawOnline
Citer cette section
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Citation simple
Penal Code, s. 397 (Thailand) -
Citation académique
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 397. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-397/ (accessed 30 août 2026). -
Citation thaïlandaise
ป.อ. มาตรา 397 -
Lien permanent
https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-397/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-397/"><p>Whoever, by any means, does an act to another person that bullies, oppresses or harasses that person, or causes that person to be humiliated or annoyed, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten thousand baht. Where the offence under paragraph one is committed…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 397 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-397/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.