Section 133 — Summoning and questioning witnesses
Statutory text (Thai original)
พนักงานสอบสวนมีอำนาจออกหมายเรียกผู้เสียหายหรือบุคคลใดซึ่งมีเหตุอันควรเชื่อว่าถ้อยคำของเขาอาจเป็นประโยชน์แก่คดีให้มาตามเวลาและสถานที่ในหมาย แล้วให้ถามปากคำบุคคลนั้นไว้การถามปากคำนั้นพนักงานสอบสวนจะให้ผู้ให้ถ้อยคำสาบานหรือปฏิญาณตัวเสียก่อนก็ได้ และต้องปฏิบัติตามบทบัญญัติแห่งประมวลกฎหมายนี้ว่าด้วยพยานบุคคลห้ามมิให้พนักงานสอบสวนตักเตือน พูดให้ท้อใจหรือใช้กลอุบายอื่นเพื่อป้องกันมิให้บุคคลใดให้ถ้อยคำ ซึ่งอยากจะให้ด้วยความเต็มใจในคดีความผิดเกี่ยวกับเพศ
การถามปากคำผู้เสียหายซึ่งเป็นหญิง ให้พนักงานสอบสวนซึ่งเป็นหญิงเป็นผู้สอบสวน
เว้นแต่ผู้เสียหายนั้นยินยอมหรือมีเหตุจำเป็นอย่างอื่น
และให้บันทึกความยินยอมหรือเหตุจำเป็นนั้นไว้ ทั้งนี้
ผู้เสียหายจะขอให้บุคคลใดอยู่ร่วมในการถามปากคำนั้นด้วยก็ได้ ในกรณีที่มีความจำเป็นต้องจัดให้ผู้เสียหายหรือพยานยืนยันตัวผู้กระทำความผิดในชั้นจับกุมหรือชี้ตัวผู้ต้องหาในคดีอาญา
ให้พนักงานฝ่ายปกครองหรือตำรวจ หรือพนักงานสอบสวนจัดให้มีการยืนยันตัวผู้กระทำความผิดหรือชี้ตัวผู้ต้องหาในสถานที่ที่เหมาะสม
และสามารถจะป้องกันมิให้ผู้กระทำความผิดหรือผู้ต้องหาเห็นตัวผู้เสียหายหรือพยาน
โดยให้คำนึงถึงความปลอดภัยของผู้เสียหายหรือพยานเท่าที่เหมาะสมแก่พฤติการณ์แห่งกรณี
เว้นแต่ผู้เสียหายหรือพยานนั้นยินยอม และให้บันทึกความยินยอม นั้นไว้
English translation
The inquiry official shall have the power to issue a summons to the injured person or to any person whose statement there is reasonable ground to believe may be of benefit to the case, to appear at the time and place stated in the summons, and shall then take that person's statement. In taking such a statement, the inquiry official may first have the person giving the statement take an oath or affirmation, and must comply with the provisions of this Code on witnesses. The inquiry official is prohibited from admonishing, discouraging, or using any other trick to prevent a person from giving a statement that the person wishes to give willingly. In cases of offenses relating to sexuality, where the injured person is a woman, the questioning shall be conducted by a female inquiry official, unless the injured person consents otherwise or there is other necessity, and such consent or necessity shall be recorded; and the injured person may request that any person be present during the questioning. Where it is necessary to have the injured person or a witness identify the offender at the arrest stage, or identify the accused in a criminal case, the administrative or police official, or the inquiry official, shall arrange the identification of the offender or the accused at a suitable place and in a manner that can prevent the offender or the accused from seeing the injured person or the witness, having regard to the safety of the injured person or the witness as appropriate to the circumstances, unless the injured person or the witness consents, in which case the consent shall be recorded.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified — always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
Placed in Chapter 1 (Ordinary Inquiry), this section governs how the inquiry official secures and takes witness statements. It links to the Code's rules on witnesses and permits an oath or affirmation, while imposing a clear prohibition on admonishing, discouraging, or tricking a person out of testifying willingly. Two protective layers were added over time: female officers must question female sexual-offense victims (subject to consent or necessity), and identification of an offender or accused must be arranged so the suspect cannot see the victim or witness, in the interest of their safety. The identification safeguard here connects with the child-specific procedures in Sections 133/2 and 133/3.
Why this matters in practice
A witness statement can be taken at any suitable place, not only a police station, so long as the summons and questioning rules are followed; a statement that is not genuinely taken from the witness can be attacked as unlawful. If you are called as a witness or an injured person, you are entitled to give your account willingly and free of pressure, and a female victim in a sexual-offense case can insist on a female officer. If you are unsure of your obligations when summoned, read what to know before you go to court in Thailand.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 1172/2566 (2023)
Questioning a person as a witness under Section 133 is distinct from charging; where a person is questioned only as a witness and not summoned to be charged as a juristic person's representative, no charge notification is required.
The Court distinguished witness questioning under Section 133 from the charge procedure. Because a certain person was questioned only as a witness and not summoned to be charged as a representative of a juristic person, the special investigation officers were not required to notify him of any charge.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 2185/2558 (2015)
Under Section 133 paragraph one, a witness statement may be taken at any place stated in the summons; it need not be taken at the police station, but it must be a genuine statement actually given by the witness.
The accused argued the investigation was unlawful because witnesses were not questioned at the police station and some signed prepared texts at home. The Court held that Section 133 allows questioning at any place named in the summons, so the location alone did not make the investigation unlawful.
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 84/2499 (1956)
Inducing a witness to reverse a truthful statement and shift the blame is contrary to the proper method of investigation under Section 133, which forbids tricks that interfere with willing testimony.
A prosecution witness, after being prompted, changed an earlier account and shifted the acts he had admitted onto the accused. The Court treated this as inconsistent with the lawful method of investigation under Section 133, which bars discouraging or tricking a witness out of a willing statement.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Frequently asked questions
Can police question a witness somewhere other than a police station?
Yes. Section 133 paragraph one lets the inquiry official summon a witness to the time and place stated in the summons, so questioning may be conducted at any suitable location, not only a police station.
Can an officer pressure a witness into changing a statement?
No. Section 133 prohibits admonishing, discouraging, or using tricks to prevent a person from giving a statement they wish to give willingly, and questioning that manipulates a witness in this way is not a lawful investigation.
Does a female victim in a sexual-offense case have to be questioned by a woman?
As a rule, yes. Section 133 requires a female inquiry official to question a female victim in sexual-offense cases, unless the victim consents otherwise or there is other necessity, which must be recorded.