Section 149: Duty to report unnatural death
Statutory text (Thai original)
ความตายผิดธรรมชาติเกิดมีขึ้น ณ ที่ใด ให้เป็นหน้าที่ของสามี ภริยา ญาติ มิตรสหายหรือผู้ปกครองของผู้ตายที่รู้เรื่องการตายเช่นนั้นจัดการดังต่อไปนี้
(๑) เก็บศพไว้ ณ ที่ซึ่งพบนั้นเองเพียงเท่าที่จะทำได้
(๒) ไปแจ้งความแก่พนักงานฝ่ายปกครองหรือตำรวจโดยเร็วที่สุดหน้าที่ดังกล่าวในวรรคต้นนั้นมีตลอดถึงผู้อื่น ซึ่งได้พบศพในที่ซึ่งไม่มีสามีภริยา ญาติ มิตรสหายหรือผู้ปกครองของผู้ตายอยู่ในที่นั้นด้วย ผู้ใดละเลยไม่กระทำหน้าที่ดังบัญญัติไว้ในมาตรานี้ ต้องระวางโทษปรับไม่เกินหนึ่งพันบาท
English translation
Where an unnatural death occurs at any place, it shall be the duty of the husband, wife, relatives, friends, or guardian of the deceased who knows of such death to do the following:
(1) keep the corpse at the place where it was found, so far as possible;
(2) report to the administrative or police officials as soon as possible.
The duty in the first paragraph extends also to any other person who finds the corpse at a place where no husband, wife, relative, friend, or guardian of the deceased is present. Whoever neglects to perform the duty prescribed in this section shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand baht.
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 supports the inquest regime opened by section 148 by imposing a private duty to preserve the scene and promptly report an unnatural death. Keeping the corpse in place protects the integrity of the later inquest, and the reporting duty ensures the authorities are alerted. The duty is backed by a minor criminal penalty and extends to bystanders where no family is present, closing the gap where a body is found by strangers. It works with sections 150 and following, which govern who then conducts the inquest.
Why this matters in practice
In practice this means you should not move or clean up around a body that died unnaturally; do only what is unavoidable and call the police or district officials promptly. Disturbing the scene can undermine the inquest and, in some circumstances, expose you to more serious offences involving tampering with a corpse. The fine here is small, but the reason behind the rule, preserving evidence of how someone died, is what really matters.
Cited in 2 Supreme Court decisions (1968 to 1991)
Selected citing decisions
- Decision 4681/2534 (1991)
- Decision 717/2511 (1968)
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
Who must report an unnatural death?
Under section 149, the husband, wife, relatives, friends, or guardian who know of the death must report it, and so must any other person who finds the body where no family is present.
Can you move the body before police arrive?
Section 149 requires keeping the corpse at the place where it was found so far as possible and reporting promptly. Moving it may harm the inquest and, in some cases, lead to more serious offences.
What is the penalty for not reporting?
Whoever neglects the duty under section 149 is liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand baht.
Cite this section
-
Plain citation
Criminal Procedure Code, s. 149 (Thailand) -
Academic citation
Criminal Procedure Code (Thailand), s. 149. ThaiLawOnline, https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-149/ (accessed 11 August 2026). -
Thai citation
ป.วิ.อ. มาตรา 149 -
Permalink
https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-149/ -
Embed on your site
<blockquote cite="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-149/"><p>Where an unnatural death occurs at any place, it shall be the duty of the husband, wife, relatives, friends, or guardian of the deceased who knows of such death to do the following: (1) keep the corpse at the place where it was found, so…</p><footer>Criminal Procedure Code, s. 149 (Thailand) — <a href="https://www.thailawonline.com/thai-criminal-procedure-code/section-149/">ThaiLawOnline</a></footer></blockquote>
The Thai text is authoritative. The English is an unofficial translation by ThaiLawOnline, free to reuse with attribution.