Section 144: Prosecutor directing compounding
Statutory text (Thai original)
ในกรณีที่พนักงานอัยการมีคำสั่งฟ้อง ถ้าความผิดนั้นเป็นความผิดซึ่งอาจเปรียบเทียบได้ ถ้าเห็นสมควรพนักงานอัยการมีอำนาจดังต่อไปนี้
(๑) สั่งให้พนักงานสอบสวนพยายามเปรียบเทียบคดีนั้น แทนการที่จะส่งผู้ต้องหาไปยังพนักงานอัยการ
(๒) เมื่อผู้ต้องหาถูกส่งมายังพนักงานอัยการแล้ว สั่งให้ส่งผู้ต้องหาพร้อมด้วยสำนวนกลับไปยังพนักงานสอบสวนให้พยายามเปรียบเทียบคดีนั้น หรือถ้าเห็นสมควรจะสั่งให้พนักงานสอบสวนอื่นที่มีอำนาจจัดการเปรียบเทียบให้ก็ได้
English translation
In a case where the public prosecutor has issued a prosecution order, if that offence is one that may be settled by compounding, the public prosecutor has the following powers, if he sees fit:
(1) to order the inquiry official to attempt to compound that case, instead of sending the accused to the public prosecutor;
(2) once the accused has been sent to the public prosecutor, to order the accused, together with the file, returned to the inquiry official to attempt to compound that case, or, if he sees fit, to order another inquiry official having authority to arrange the compounding.
This English translation is provided for reference only and has not yet been firm-verified. Always rely on the Thai original.
Firm annotation
This section gives the prosecutor a diversion tool for minor compoundable offences after a prosecution order, promoting settlement over trial where appropriate. It complements section 142's compounding route by allowing the prosecutor, not just the police, to trigger compounding at a later point. Its reach is limited: it presupposes that compounding actually lies within an inquiry official's authority; where the power to compound rests elsewhere, the prosecutor cannot order the inquiry official to do it.
Why this matters in practice
If your case is a compoundable offence, this section is a genuine off-ramp from trial, even after the prosecutor has decided to charge, so raising a settlement is worthwhile. But whether compounding is available depends on who holds the compounding power for that particular offence, which is not always the police. A licensed Thai lawyer can tell you quickly whether your matter qualifies and how to position it.
Supreme Court decisions interpreting this section
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Supreme Court Judgment No. 977/2545 (2002)
The prosecutor cannot order an inquiry official to compound a case under section 144 where the power to compound that offence does not lie with the inquiry official.
Where the statute gave a minister-appointed committee discretionary power to compound, the committee's choice not to compound was lawful. Because compounding did not lie within the inquiry official's authority, the prosecutor could not order the inquiry official to attempt compounding under section 144, and the prosecution of the company's directors was valid.
Curated decisions with case numbers verified against the Supreme Court database. English renderings are the firm's editorial translation for study.
Cited in 4 Supreme Court decisions (1946 to 2022)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 977/2545 (2002)
- Decision 126/2489 (1946)
- Decision 5991/2558 (2015)
- Decision 2565/2565 (2022)
This list is selected automatically, weighted towards judgments that turn on this section rather than ones that merely recite it when passing sentence. It has not yet been reviewed by the firm.
Counted across the firm's corpus of 83,652 Supreme Court decisions, 1921 to 2026. The count is complete; the stated year range trims rare outliers so it describes where the citations actually sit. These figures are computed by us and are not official court statistics. How we count these, and what we measured
Frequently asked questions
Can a case be settled after the prosecutor decides to prosecute?
For a compoundable offence, yes. Section 144 lets the prosecutor order the inquiry official to attempt compounding instead of trial, even after a prosecution order.
Can the prosecutor always order compounding?
No. The prosecutor can only direct the inquiry official to compound where the compounding power actually lies with the inquiry official; if that power rests with another body, section 144 does not apply.
Related guides on ThaiLawOnline
Cite this section
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Plain citation
Criminal Procedure Code, s. 144 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Criminal Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 144. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-144/ (accessed 11 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.วิ.อ. มาตรา 144 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-144/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-144/"><p>In a case where the public prosecutor has issued a prosecution order, if that offence is one that may be settled by compounding, the public prosecutor has the following powers, if he sees fit: (1) to order the inquiry official to attempt to compound that…</p><footer>Criminal Procedure Code, s. 144 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-144/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.