Article 66: Intoxication is not an excuse, except when involuntary
Statutory text (Thai original)
ความมึนเมาเพราะเสพย์สุราหรือสิ่งเมาอย่างอื่นจะยกขึ้นเป็นข้อแก้ตัวตามมาตรา ๖๕ ไม่ได้ เว้นแต่ความมึนเมานั้นจะได้เกิดโดยผู้เสพย์ไม่รู้ว่าสิ่งนั้นจะทำให้มึนเมา หรือได้เสพย์โดยถูกขืนใจให้เสพย์ และได้กระทำความผิดในขณะไม่สามารถรู้ผิดชอบ หรือไม่สามารถบังคับตนเองได้ ผู้กระทำความผิดจึงจะได้รับยกเว้นโทษสำหรับความผิดนั้น แต่ถ้าผู้นั้นยังสามารถรู้ผิดชอบอยู่บ้าง หรือยังสามารถบังคับตนเองได้บ้าง ศาลจะลงโทษน้อยกว่าที่กฎหมายกำหนดไว้สำหรับความผิดนั้นเพียงใดก็ได้
English translation
Intoxication caused by the consumption of liquor or other intoxicants cannot be raised as an excuse under Section 65, unless the intoxication occurred without the doer's knowledge or against his will and rendered him unable to appreciate right and wrong or unable to control himself, in which case the doer shall be exempt from punishment.
But if the doer still retains some ability to appreciate right and wrong, or still retains some ability to control himself, the Court may inflict a punishment less than that provided by law for such offence to any extent.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Section 66 qualifies the insanity excuse in Section 65 for cases of intoxication. The general rule is that self-induced intoxication is no excuse: a person who voluntarily consumes liquor or drugs cannot claim inability to appreciate right and wrong or to control himself. The narrow exception is involuntary intoxication, either without the doer's knowledge or by coercion, that produced total incapacity, which exempts from punishment; where only partial incapacity resulted, the court may reduce below the statutory minimum to any extent. The provision sits alongside Section 65 in Book 1 and turns on whether the intoxication was voluntary, so the manner in which the substance was taken is the decisive fact. It should not be confused with the Narcotics Act, which uses its own separately numbered provisions.
Why this matters in practice
For a defendant who was drunk or high at the time of the offence, Section 66 almost always closes the door: voluntary intoxication is not a defence and does not negate liability, so being intoxicated will not by itself defeat a finding of intent. The exception is genuinely narrow and requires proof that the intoxication was involuntary, imposed without knowledge or by force, and severe enough to destroy capacity. Where intoxication was voluntary but partial incapacity is shown, the realistic benefit is mitigation, not acquittal. Anyone charged with a serious offence committed while intoxicated should get criminal law advice on whether any part of Section 66 is arguable.
Décisions de la Cour suprême interprétant cette section
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 5923/2559 (2016)
A person who voluntarily drinks alcohol knowing it causes intoxication cannot invoke that intoxication under Section 66 to claim inability to appreciate right and wrong or control himself.
The defendant entered a pub and drank, which the Court held to be voluntary consumption knowing it causes intoxication. He therefore could not raise the intoxication as an excuse under Section 66, and was held to have intended to kill, supporting the attempted murder conviction.
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Arrêt de la Cour suprême n° 6445/2537 (1994)
Even where an offence is committed while intoxicated by liquor, the doer cannot raise the intoxication as an excuse to avoid punishment under Section 66.
The defendant fired a gun, killing one person and wounding another. The Court held that even accepting he acted while intoxicated by liquor, he could not raise that intoxication as an excuse to escape punishment under Section 66, and remained liable for murder and attempted murder.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 27 Supreme Court decisions (1966 to 2018)
Décisions de citation sélectionnées
- Décision 4265/2561 (2018)
- Decision 2809/2556 (2013)
- Decision 6445/2537 (1994)
- Decision 100/2535 (1992)
- Decision 124/2530 (1987)
- Decision 7768/2548 (2005)
- Decision 6465/2547 (2004)
- Decision 8566/2552 (2009)
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 78 18
- Article 91 14
- Article 33 11
- Article 83 10
- Article 90 10
- Article 32 9
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
Puis-je invoquer l'ivresse comme moyen de défense face à un crime ?
Non, si vous avez bu volontairement. L'article 66 prévoit que l'ivresse volontaire ne peut être invoquée comme excuse au titre de l'article 65 ; par conséquent, l'ivresse volontaire n'exonère pas de responsabilité.
Dans quelles circonstances l'intoxication exempte-t-elle une personne de punition ?
La peine ne peut être prononcée que si l'intoxication a eu lieu à l'insu de la personne ou contre son gré, et l'a rendue incapable de distinguer le bien du mal ou de se contrôler. Si une certaine capacité de discernement subsiste, le tribunal peut seulement réduire la peine.
Guides connexes sur ThaiLawOnline
Citer cette section
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Citation simple
Penal Code, s. 66 (Thailand) -
Citation académique
Penal Code (Thailand), s. 66. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-66/ (accessed 30 août 2026). -
Citation thaïlandaise
ป.อ. มาตรา 66 -
Lien permanent
https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-66/ -
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<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-66/"><p>Intoxication caused by the consumption of liquor or other intoxicants cannot be raised as an excuse under Section 65, unless the intoxication occurred without the doer's knowledge or against his will and rendered him unable to appreciate right and wrong or unable to control himself,…</p><footer>Penal Code, s. 66 (Thailand): <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/fr/thai-penal-code/section-66/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.